£2_Castlegar News November 7, 1990 LOCAL NEWS Group touts utility hearing changes By CLAUDETTE SANDECKI Staff Writer The public hearings process used to determine whether or not a utility can make a change that will af- - fect its customers, such as raising its rates, is a “‘stacked Process and it’s stacked aguas the public,”’ says a B.C. Utilities Commission hearings inviting to the average person. He made his point to the commission in his closing arguments during the final day of hearings last week in Rossland into WKP’s application to raise rates by about such as providing a resource room for the public to look ‘at hearing documents and transcripts — but in general the public is cynical about the process and “‘it leaves them cold,”” he told the Castlegar News. Scarlett said his final argument, during which he summed up the association’s objections to the utility's request for increases of 5.5 per cent for 1990, 5.6 per cent for 1991 and 4.9 per cent for 1992, was not as strong as it could have been. Scarlett, who is an electrician and works for the association as a volunteer, said he could have used more time to prepare the association’s case and he was not told ahead of time when the hearings would wrap up and his closing arguments would be expected. Anyone who is not a lawyer involved in the hearing in the future. the people of the West and the O) said. The association says WKP is secking rate hikes that are higher than the company needs for a reasonable rate of return — or profit margin — and West Kootenay should not be permitted to fix rate increases so far into the future. The utiilty cannot accurately forecast power demands for 1992, Scarlett said in an earlier interview. Steve Ash, vice-president of fimance with West Kootenay, said the “major assumptions” of the 's rate were not seriously process is not kept weil i of and of- ten has difficulty obtaining documents during the spearhead the arguments of intervenor groups such as theirs. Other intervenor groups at the hearings who were represented by lawyers, such as the municipalities that buy power wholesale from West Kootenay or the Con- sumers Association of Canada, agreed with the Electric Consumers Association on some points but had totally different views on others, Scarlett said. As well, those groups do not specifically represent during the hearings. He said groups and individuals involved in the hearings seemed in general to acknowledge that the utility’s rates are driven by a number of factors that are outside its control. To meet the demands of its service area, WKP buys 10 to 15 per cent of its power from B.C. Hydro for a price that is about three times the cost of generating electricity at West Kootenay’s own facilities, Ash said. And West Kootenay currently buys 25 to 30 per cent of its power from Cominco at a price that is about three times the cost of generating its own electricity, he said, adding Cominco is planning to use more of its own As well, the utility will be making some major ¢x- penditures for facilities in the Okanagan in 1991-92 to meet the increasing demand in that region, Ash said. He said the commission will hav¢ to consider all the issues brought up during the hearings, including requests for changes to the rates to reflect differences between the West Kootenay and the Okanagan where the power demand has been escalating. Ash said last week was the first time a business owner has attended the hearings to complain he is paying more than WKP’s residential rate and more than B.C. Hydro customers because he uses a small amount of power. West Ki is asking the to hold hearings in 1992 on rate structure to address some of the concerns that have been raised over rate fairness, he said. A similar hearing process is being set up for B.C. Hydro in 1991, he said. Ash noted West Kootenay proposed some rate changes to deal with some of the problems about five years ago but the commission turned the idea down. The commission is expected to make a ruling on the Proposed rate increases by the end of the year. continued trom front pegs council's works and services commit- tee to install the ramps. “This hasn't been forgotten, he said. Another resident asked when the city will install a traffic light at the intersection of 10th Street and Cotumbia Avenue, commonly known as the bottom of Hospital Hill, to make access to Columbia Avenue easier. “It’s like being in downtown Van- couver,"” the questioner said of the wait to turn left on to Columbia from 10th. (Calderbank and incumbent Doreen Smecher both said the traffic light LOOKING FOR CLUES RDCK wants Celgar to monitor environment By SIMON BIRCH traffic in and around Castlegar if the committee which recommended the Editor panel recommends approval of the board adopt the position on The Regional District of Central project and it gets the green light ™onitoring.-“*Monitoring has been a Kootenay board of directors wants from the provincial and federal ‘arge part of the presentations at the te make sure Ceigar Pulp Co. keeps governments. an eye on itself. public hearings.’’ three-member _federal- The regional district board adds provincial review panel wrapped up LOCAL NEWS The board voted Saturday to send a letter to the Celgar Expansion Review Panel's lawyer advising that it’s the board’s opinion Celgar should be that if the panel is not going to ad- dress the fanee of monitoring then the board ‘‘will be pursuing im- plementation of such monitoring _— at its own eae pir with all ults available to the public — the Project is approved. public hearings on Ceigar’s proposal last week. The regional districg, wants Celgar to monitor the effe f ths mill’s discharges on the Columfa River above and below the mill, on air at all the mill’s stacks and at least two will possibly be installed next year. Calderbank said the city and the Provincial government will share the cost of the light. ““We have applied for funding and with a bit of luck we should get it by Janet Neumann, who is running for a seat om the Castlegar school board, asked the candidates to ad- dress the issue of vandalism in the “I would like to see a youth cen- tre,”” she said. “I'm sure with the money the city has spent on van- dalism you could build a centre and have responsible people running it."” Incumbert Patti Richards said there are grants available through government youth programs. “I agree and I know we'll have staff investigate,"” sne said. She said she'd like to see Castlegar’s youth involved in their own centre “Council shouldn't be telling youth what they want and where they want it,”’ Richards said. “Let them be responsible for their cwn building and their own activities.”” She said local youth will respect such a centre more if they feel it's theirs to look after. Jim Chapman, one of three challengers to the five incumbents, said the Community Compicx was built with the intention of giving local youth oO go “seven nights a “This i$ exactly what this was built for — to get the kids off the street,” he said. ‘“This was to give a place for the children to gather. We have to find a way to use this place to Kirk Duff said educating local youth about the effects of vandalism is a key to solving the problem and said he’s like to see the school board involved. “I think education has to exist hand in hand with any facilities we build,”” said Duff, an electrician at Cominco who has lived in Castlegar for the last 2% years Also making a bid to return to listed numerous accomplishments of council during his previous term as alderman. Pakula said he will, if elected, work nization project and will work with the provincial government to control pollution im the area. © Free Trader Magazine © McFayden's Seed Offer Mot oll Hyers receive tull distribution. By CasNews Staff A house fire early Saturday morning in Castlegar caused ex- tensive damage to the interior of the residence and its contents, fire chief Bob Mann said There were no injuries. The fire, at 731 - lith Ave., occurred at about 5 a.m. Mann said an electric heater on the back porch is suspected to have caused the blaze. He said a smoke alarm alerted the residents, whom he described as an older couple but refused to Wee cuiel Gab Mons (lott) and Oa faobt that U ceapecsea ef coming the tiene ea Fa1- Tith Ave. Saturday morning. Cowhens proto House fire causes damage name, who attempted to put out the fire themselves. Mann said the fire “got away”’ from the couple and by the time firefighters arrived the blaze had fully engulfed the kitchen and spread into the roof of the house. It took the 15 Castlegar firefighters who responded to the fire just eight to 10 minutes to get it under control, Mann said. However, firefighters needed six to seven hours to completely ex- tinguish the fire, he said. The fire is still under in- vestigation LOTTERIES The winning numbers drawn Tuesday in the B.C. Keno lottery were 1, 20, 33,38, 45, 46, 47 and 54 The winning numbers drawn Monday in the B.C. Keno lottery were 8, 15, 18, 25, 35, 41, 42 and 45. The winning numbers in Satur- day’s Lotto 6/49 draw were 1, 11, 16, 27, 32 and 49. The bonus number was 37. The four Extra winning numbers for British Columbia on Saturday were 2, 31, 62 and 88. The winning numbers drawn Saturday in the B.C. Keno lottery were 1, 5, 14, 25, 29, 35, 38 and 48. The winning Lotto BC sumbers were 4, 11, 12, 22, 36 and 39. The four winning numbers drawn in the Express draw were 659402, 490868, 786867 and 887886. These numbers, provided by The Canadian Press, must be considered unofficial. ‘effects of the company’s proposed “This is nothing new,”’ said Area other locations in the valley, and the $650-million expansion and moder- E director Josh Smienk, chairman of effect of industrial traffic in relation nization project on the air, water and the regional district’s resources to total traffic volumes. School board continued from front pege Incumbent Tony Guglielmi said long-range planning is a major issue for him. The school board must sit down and consider what demands may be placed on its facilities and programs in the future and where the money will come from to meet those demands, said Guglielmi, who is chairman of the board’s policy committee. the board recently decided some of the overcrowding at Kinnaird element school. “Is that the solution — and for how long?” Guglieimi said. He said he will also continue to support language Programs in the schools because maintaining the ethnic and cultural diversity in this community and across Canada is important. Beverley Maloff, an office administrator, agrees with Guglielmi on the planning issue although she said she was unaware of his views. The board needs to know which areas in the district cam expect an increase in the student population and which schools and grades will be affected, especially if the city receives an influx of residents connected to the Ceigar expansion project, she said. Maloff, who has been involved with the school board as a parent representative for a number of years, said she would like to see smaller class sizes and she wants the Grade 6 students settled in one school instead of being moved around. She said schools should be made brighter and cheerier inside and she would like to see consultation between the school district and area businesses to ensure senior students are studying programs that will help them find jobs locally. Baker said she is running with a parent’s point of view and wants to “‘continue and improve’’ what the current board has done. But there are no major issues to debate right now, she said. She has been active in parent groups for 12 years and she said she wants to work with parents, teachers and administrators to direct the new primary program and the i and which are how being drafted. Turner said that perhaps the only problem facing the district right now is space. The planned upgrading of Stanley Humphries and the reopening of Blueberry school will address the space problem “‘if it is a Problem,” he said. He said he is ‘‘partially responsible’’ for the new openness the board is displaying and he wolild like to **keep the district moving in a reasonable way.”” Janet Neumann, a long-term care aide, said she is opposed to funding Russian-language programs in Castlegar schools. The school district ‘‘can’t cater to special groups” and people who want to preserve a language within the community should do so somewhere other than the school system, she said. Neumann, who has been active as a volunteer in the schools for a number of years, said she is interested in recent Ministry of Education initiatives such as the new primary and wants to know where those Programs will lead the education system. Incumbents Evelyn Voykin and Bill Hadikin, representing Area J, were unopposed and have been returned by acclamation. Barb Bray, president of the Castlegar United Way, presents Bert Rourke, the United Way's local campaign faimen bet the Last two years, witha United Way citation for his service to Rourke October. d the plaque and a gift in late November 7, 1990 Castlegar News A3 YOUR COMMUNITY FOOD STORE Cristal de France Collection Tremendous Savings on 24% Full Lead Crystal from France! NOW ON SALE! THIS WEEK'S FEATURE ITEM TUMBLER sxx RETAIL $4.99 ROASTS :::- .. CAN. onaceA ug ° 37), $169 ROASTS sss. kg. +505), 9D ae GROUND BEEF. kg. sq, > 1 = SLICED BACON $329) BEEF LIVER ts "0 9 COD | FILLETS. ICE CREAM FOREMOST. ASSORTED vo), 599] PINK SALMON EAD OFF. FROZEN . kg. °3°'/ ib N 732 59 WESTON NS BREAD $y” $449 YOGOURT SWISS. DAIRYLAND 5 25/MINI SUBS. SEEDED. WESTONS . $439 ..PKG. OF 6 STREET TALK B.C. HYDRO’S DISTRICT OFFICE IN NAKUSP has won the company’s W.A. Best award for achieving the highest standard of customer service. To win the award, named after former Hydro vice- President Bill Best, Nakusp had to edge out finalists from three other regions: the Lower Mainland, Northern B.C. and Vancouver Island. Nakusp is in Hydro’s South Interior region. “This team has made a clear effort to improve relations between Hydro and the ity,”” the THE CELEBRATE A LIFE tree will again be installed inside the Home Support Office during the Christmas season. Anyone who wishes can put a light on the tree in memory of a departed loved one. Money donated will go to the continuing work of Hospice, which organizes the project. Education for Hospice volunteers has been ongoing since October at Selkirk College on a weekly basis. The last program will be at the end of awards committee said. ‘‘In addition to their tin the a to customer service in their district. For example, to pre-empt customer complaints following an outage caused by lightning, they organized a public meeting to explain what Hydro can and cannot do, all in a friendly and responsive manner.”* THE CASTLEGAR SUN has apparently obtained premises in downtown Castlegar. Sterling paper’s new weekly paper will be located in the former Update Fashions building, most recently Trios Shoes, across from city hall. Nancy Lingley, former editor of Sterling’s weekly in Creston, the Creston Valley Advance, has been named editor of the Sun. Jon Jarrett, a member of the Nelson Daily News advertising staff will be the Sun’s advertising manager. Grace Schaull, wife of Nelson News publisher Verne Schaull, —- be the paper’s office manager. Sterling Newspapers’ chain of daily and weekly newspapers in B.C. includes the Nelson News and the Trail Daily Times. The company is a subsidiary of Hollinger Inc . Hospice is always open to new volunteers. Contact Anne Fomenoff at the Home Support Office. WEST KOOTENAY FLY FISHERS will hold their first meeting Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. The meeting will take place at the Aasiand Taxidermy Museum building on Columbia Avepue in south Castlegar. Anyone interested is welcgme to attend. CASTLEGAR CHAMBER OF COMMERCE has received $8,026 from the provincial government to hire a person to design and implement an inventory database of tourism-related brochures and statistics as well as resource information for the Travel Infocentre. The funding is provided under the Community Tourism Employment Training Program jointly administered by the ministries of Tourism and Social Services and Housing. The program is designed to provide employment and training for people receiving income assistance. Grants are awarded to non-profit organizations for community projects which improve tourism- related facilities or projects. The program, launched in 1987, has created 648 jobs so far this fiscal year with $5.2 million in financial assistance, Tourism Minister Cliff Michael said. CREMO DAIRYLAND id Nad need HEINZ BEANS WITH/WITHOUT PORK 89° [PEPSLOR7UP $79 REGULAR OR DIET . PLUS DEPOSIT OVERLANDER — CENTRAL DELI DELITES — OVERLANDER GRIMMS TRUSTEE For the 90's On Nov. 17th, For School Dist. No. 9 VOTE CORNED BEEF OR SHAVED we 99° ROAST BEEF — $119 OR SHAVED ... 100 G. OVERLANDER ___ CAPICOLLI $1 39] sez SI SLICED OR SHAVED ... 100 G. OR SHAVED SUMMER GARLIC RING COIL. OVERLANDER 66° BEER SAUSAGE OVERLANDER MILD, MEDIUM OR OLD. SCHNEIDERS ONTARIO CLAMATO zx REGULAR OR EXTRA SPICEY. moTtsS. 36 L. PARKAY ««..... PEANUT BUTTE KRAFT SMOOTH OR CRUNCHY .750G. sai LIFE CEREAL no 9249] RICE-A-RONI $419 176-227 G. CORN B BRAN CEREAL QUAKER. ~ $928 | NOODLE RON ASSORTED FLAVORS .*1}9 HARVEST CRUNCH $419/GRANOLA BARS CHEWY. QUAKER CEREAL. QUAKER x $959 OAT SQUARES $229/D0G FOOD 79: REG. OR WITH VEG. ROVER .723G. Project continued trom front page “Timing is everything,”’ Sweency said im a news release. “After 14 days of examining every aspect of the project in formal public hearings, capping what has been a year-long review process, the project will live or die on the timely actions of the panel and the ministers of the two senior levels of government. “Without an approval in principle ratified by Victoria and Ottawa before the Christmas holiday break, the burden of months of additional delay simply may push the project past the point of no return."” One option open to the federal- provincial review panel is to issue an interim report recommending whether in principle should be granted for the project, Sweency said. He said Celgar has paid a high V0E SWEENEY price for the distinction of being the first project in B.C- im comply with our plans to install the best available control technology to minimize the environmental impacts and to ensure that the mill meets current and Proposed govenment clean air and Sweeney said it was gratifying to see the public hearings produce across-the-board support for the mill modernization from the federal and from United States environmental + ‘timing everything’ ours, have to justify and commit to measures that would not have been mecessary a few years ago,"’ Sweency said. “But it has meant that the can be assured that it is getting the best and cleanest com- petitive mill that technology can deliver. “We have detailed for the panei KITCHEN DESIGN CENTRE presents KITCHEN This is a special introductory discount offer on Kitchen Craft products for a limited time only! (Nov. 9/1990 to Dec. 8/1990) 50% DISCOUNT on discontinued displays! 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