ae ee Se ee 52a Tne oe nn aN eo ee ee TheFARSIDE By Gary Larson WKP strikes near end? || SPROUTS Corinne Jackson NEWS REPORTER = The mood among striking West Kootenay Power employ- ees is beginning to pick up. Brian Robson said an agreement in principle inked last Wednesday by the Inter- national Brotherhood of Elec- trical Workers and WKP has received 75 per cent support. “I think 75 per cent says it all. We are looking at the . agreement as worth the ef- fort,” the IBEW’s assistant business manager said. The main issue during the 11-week dispute was pensions, something that Robson said has been addressed in this agreement. “I think we have a good plan,” he said.“The members are happy with it.” According to Robson, “our Mall faces NEWS STAFF ; The Southcentre Shopping Mall is one hurdle away from reality. Castlegar is expected to grant a development permit to the 54,650 square-foot shop- ping mall following a public hearing Thursday. The hear- ing, scheduled for noon in council chambers, is the final step before construction be- ence the development per- mit is issued, we will go ahead,” said project engineer Chuck Kucera, of Kucera En- next step is that picket lines will be coming down and we'll wait and honor (the Office of Technical Employees’ Union) picket lines.” While IBEW members were voting on last week’s deal, WKP and mediator Don Cott were again behind closed doors negotiating a settlement with OTEU. Paula Stromberg called the meetings between WKP and its unions encour- “It certainly is encouraging if one side can reach an agree- ment,” the OTEU’s communi- cations director said. Stromberg also said that “it shows the company wants to resolve the situation.” Those talks began on Mon- day evening then broke off and started again Tuesday morning. last hurdle gineering. “We're looking for- ward to a busy fall.” Acting for developer Rick Holdings Ltd., Kucera would give no forecast as to when the project would be completed. He said the project has gone as far as it can without a devel- opment permit, including se- curing leases and issuing out- lining tendering notices. According to a city report, Rick Holdings Ltd. must enter into a servicing agreement with Castlegar, provide prop- er accesses, landscaping and provide a security of $50,000. VOTE FOR . « « aCouncil that - earns the respect of those it serves - is accessible and accountable - provides all the information - all the time - seeks public input on all major issues _. . and a Councillor that can make it happen! GAIRNS David W. PORK STEAK Shoulder ¢ butt ¢ bone-in family pack ¢3.28kg. f qe B.C. Grown No. 1 BRUSSEL -86 kg. 09 Old Dutch POTATO CHIPS 200 g. © limit 2 asstd. ee Foremost ; WHIPPING} CREAM eS ith $25 | 500 ml. © limit 1 with $25 | with $25 order + 0.LP. $2.49 order ¢ 0.L.P. $1.49 CHOMPER| DOG FOOD 700 g. tin ays or $7.99 case of 12 “GRADE AY “Bi ADE TURKEYS 2.18 kg. STEAK 3.70 kg. seaemean Golden Ripe Call. Grown No. 1 Bone-in ¢ family pack ‘BANANAS | CRANBERRY | JEWEL YAMS -86 kg. Castlegar Foods _ ‘Ocean Spray SAUCE Whole e jellied 398 mi. ¢ limit 2 President's Choice 12-PAC POP 12-355 ml. tins assorted AQ Plus Deposit CREAM 21. ¢ all flavours ¢ limit 1 Gold Label Tri-V DRY DOG CEREALS A OD Introductory offer Multigrain Crisp ¢ Granola Chunky ¢ big 20 kg. bag ™@ Wednesday, October 7, 1992 3m SecondFRONT! CALL THE NEWS @General Inquiries 365-7266 OUR HOURS The News is located at 197 Columbia Ave. Our office hours are Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed on weekends and statutory holidays. SUB RATES The News is published by Castle News Ltd. for Canwest Publishers Ltd. Mail subscription rate to The News is $37.50 per year. The price on newsstands is 75¢ for each edition. The price delivered by newspaper carrier for both editions is only 90¢ a week (collected monthly). GST extra. Second class mail registration number 0019. Neil Rachynski NEWS REPORTER Diamond Exteriors is on the brink of financial disaster. The Castlegar-based siding company which has been accused of wrongful trade practices claims it has been tried and convicted. So do its satisfied customers. “The (renovation) job was done really well,” Slocan Valley resident William Harasemow said. “They went out of their way and did a fantastic job on an old house. “I have nothing but praise for the man.” That man is Diamond Exteriors’ owner Bill Prentice. He is furious with a turn-line in a news report from another local paper that referred to his business as a “rip-off.” “I’m pissed off,” Prentice said. “I’ve had three small jobs since that paper came out.” Prentice says he’s had to let go of ten employees as a direct result of the newspaper’s story. “I’ve got rid of three crews,” Prentice said. “It’s just myself and one guy. *I may take a little time to get the job done. My partner’s gone but I’m still doing them.” Prentice says the problems started with his partner, and that the two have split up following legal arrangements.in Nelson. “Legally we got (the separation) over with a couple months ago,” Prentice said. Since then, Prentice says he has done his best to finish the work with a skeleton crew. During an interview with The News, Prentice produced numerous. contracts with his customers so they could be called. “We didn’t have any problems,” Rossland resident Linda Thompson said. “After I saw (the story) in the paper I said ‘Holy Christ.’ I saw the article in (a Trail newspaper) on Diamond Exteriors claims injustice the third page. The job was completed in May and they did a great job.” Castlegar. resident John Landis went so far as to write an open letter dated Aug. 31 which states, “I found Bill Prentice to be an honorable man in his business dealings with me. A roofing contract, based on a handshake, was completed in the agreed time limit and quoted price, to my satisfaction.” But not everyone is happy with Prentice. Mike Paisley of Grand Forks claims Prentice never finished the job, saying “like a jerk I gave him 11 pieces” to finish someone else’s house. Prentice said the pieces were used for another job with Paisley’s permission. He also said Paisley’s material will be replaced as soon as he makes a trip to his supplier in Kelowna on Friday or Monday. LAYING THE FOUNDATION bd ; cs News photo by Corinne Jackson The Selkirk College Foundation got a boost it needed Saturday as students like South Slocan’s Steve Ball got their hands wet during a car wash held Woodland Park Shell. The car wash was organized to help rise awareness for the Selkirk Foundation’s 1992 fundraising campaign. Wi Advanced Education Minister opens new wing but won’t open cheque book Corinne Jackson NEWS REPORTER Dr. Tom Perry says Selkirk College should not feel hard done by. The Advanced Education Minister said the college cannot expect a revamping of the funding formula used to determine program costs. “We’re always looking at the formula, but I don’t think it would be fair to say Selkirk is discriminated against.” Explaining every district’s need for more money, Perry said that “Vancouver has a higher percentage of (English as a second language) students, more with severe disabilities.” Selkirk’s Castlegar campus is “rather deluxe compared to some colleges” he said. The minister’s remarks don’t come as any surprise, Leo Perra said. “We don’t have long line ups and so his response doesn’t surprise me,” the college president said. Perra said that “when you look at percentage No funding review for Selkirk of enrollment and percentage of budget and percentage of population, we are doing better than Lower Mainland colleges.” However, Perra said “the distributing mechanism of the available resources does favor larger institutions.” He said the overall cost to run programs at smaller institutions like Selkirk is higher than in larger cities where they have more students and thus more money. Perra, also the Chairman of the Formula Review Task Force, said “I wouldn't expect the minister to be on top of the funding formula problem. “As far as I’m concerned there is a recognition that there is a problem,” Perra said. “The question is how to address the problem.” According to Perra, lack of money during this restraint period has created “winners and losers. “We are trying to make all at least marginal winners.” Perry, however, did say that colleges on the whole are a government priority. “Probably in the future colleges will see better funding, because from what I can see they need it more.” spill closes city centre Scott David Harrison EDITOR A chemical spill forced the clo- sure of downtown Castlegar Mon- day night. A Celgar-bound tanker-truck leaked some 10 gallons of sodium hydro sulphide its cargo, forcing lo- cal police and fire crews to shut- down Columbia Avenue for 30 minutes. “It was not my idea of a fun night,” Castlegar fire chief Gerry Rempel said Tuesday. The Castlegar Volunteer Fire Department responded to the call at 7:01 p.m., sending some 21 members to the corner of Colum- bia and Third Street to deal with the spill. “There really wasn’t a lot of product,” Rempel said of the spill. “Tt just smelled, that’s all.” Sodium hydro sulphide is a chemical used in the production of pulp. According to B.C. Environ- mental Officer Jim Jensen, it is a corrosive material which can be hazardous. “There was only a small quanti- ty that spilled, some 10 to 20 gal- lons,” Jensen said. “That’s a very minimal amount. They only thing people probably notice was the rot- ten egg smell.” Jensen said the Castlegar fire department, CANUTEC Canada and B.C. Environment took the necessary steps to clean up the spill as fast as possible. The Castlegar fire department was on the scene for two and a half hours. Jensen said the incident oc- curred because of a malfunction to a safety lock on the tanker-truck’s intake valve. He said the trucking company, Schoeler Mid-Con Bulk Systems of Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., would not be charged under the Environment Act. “They could be charged if it was determined they were negligent,” Jensen said. “The driver wasn’t aware of the malfunction. “It was purely an accident.”