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CASTLEGAR, BRITISH COLUMBIAS DECEMBER 19, 1979

"The Crossroads of the Kootenays”

Midnight fi

: Investigation of arson as the ‘suspected
cause of the fast- spreading fire which;levelled
Kinnaird Elementary School af a:cost of $1.3
million'near'midnight Saturday coritinued this

“week,

PolAn investigator for the provincial tire
marshall's office joined Castlegar Fire Depart-
- ment’and RCMP members Monday jn search-
ing through the school's remains tor signs of
the source of the blaze 45 volunteer firemen

: battled for more than seven hours.

‘Fite chief Rene Archambault said Tuesday the on-site
investigation had continued “for the past two days" and was
d ‘to end: b:

ae eee of
elkirk’ College and its

ith provincial. govern-
ent mediator .R.J. Phil-
ps early in the new year
an effort to resolve the
atstanding i issues of sal-
ary and seniority regard-
ing faculty’ layoffs... Al-
‘though 75 per cent of the

college board Serine thet
Sina ff ‘situation ° be-

Z \ediation
next month

culty members will meet ©

tween two faculty mem- :
bers who have the same
qualifications and _ exper-
tise in a given field, the
member with’ the. most
seniority retains the job. In
contract language faculty.
members feel this clause is
not clear. enough. oid
College staff ‘personnel
manager ' Harold: Kamika-
ys the college: has

David Thompson
in Nelson.‘ -.*

Archambault sald the firemen used four.pumper trucks
“and hundreds of feet of hose” from both the north and south
firehalls to fight the fire, which destroyed 12 full classrooms,

two’small learning assistance rooms, a gym, an activity room

and a library in the school.
Although they saved a small portable classroom, which is
“hardly damaged at all,” firemen did not arrive on the scene'in
time to saye any portion of the main school building, he said.

VOLUNTEER FIREMEN, above, |”
spreading | fire which’ broke out Ground midnight Satur:
razed School.

‘Archambault said the fire started in the gym area and
“moved 'down both wings.”

“It ran awfully fast from one end of the building to
another,-which I saw myself,” he said. "It was too-late to get
into the, building by the time we got there. That's how fast
that fire moved.”

The volunteer firemen, some of whom left. Christmas
parties held by the City of Castlegar and CanCel that evening,

spent up.to 15. hours at the | fire site, he said.

“We did all we could,” the fire chief said. “We couldn't:
have done any more with any more pumpers anyway, the way: :

it turned out.”

Also attending the fire were RCMP members, ‘who
directed traffic at the scene, and a yet-unidentified .West:
Kootenay Power lineman who climbed a utility pole to cut a:
potentially dangerous power Ine near the blaze, he said...

“T’d like tocommend him personally for that because that
was a hot job,” the fire chief sald. “His clothing was steaming:

going up that pole.”

‘Asked whether any signs of gasoline similar flamab

ly
id th jot "ROME ‘and’ fre dapat eae ‘lvectign dguton

sai ie jo! ane ent :inv ‘tion
“hadn't been able to determine that

«But commenting on the fire ‘Sundin Archambault said he.
had not “seen anything like it in my 80 years of service,” and:
noted the fire “just ran through the

“I'm.very suspicious of arson,” the fire chief told the ‘
Castlegat, News.,/ As old ss the building ia It cookds't have’
“gone that fast.”

Contacted Tuesday John Dascher, School District No. 9.

secretary-| valup building.
+ $1.8 million but “I think we'll be looking at close to $1.5 million. ’
by the: time it's replaced, and updated to ‘moet all the latest.
of B.C. 7H

owe figure strafed only

== not provide for replacement of its coi

i df,

Below, only the h on the b
‘site, a section of which was more than 30 | jears old. A
fire’ marsha!’s office investigator joined' tocal fire

its.

Dascher confirmed that the fire occurred while plans for i
installation of a fire and intrude? alarm system — “which!
would have divided the building in half" —- and‘a firewall|
awaited education ministry approval. ©.

“They are presently. sitting down in Victoria awaiting |
approval to go to tender,” he said. “The same plans are down j i
there right now for Twin Rivers Elementary.” | .

“In fact, I was talking to (the ministry) about five minutes } i
ago on Twin Rivers and I think we'll get approval on that one i
almost immediately,” he added. H

. Ina Monday statement Ald. Len Embree, chairman of :

‘Arbitration award
readied by board —

Members of the three-
man arbitration: board ap-
pointed to prepare a binding

“ séttlement between School

District No. 9 and the Castle-
gar .District Teachers’ As-
Sociation are preparing to
hand down a decision.

. That was the news Tues-
day from. district’ secretary-
. treasurer John Dascher, who

i he expects: the decision
ie weekend.”

“I know they have com-
pleted .their deliberations,”
Dascher said. “And I under-
stand the arbitration award _
is presently being typed out.”

> e. board is made up of
district appointee Jack Pol-
onicoff, CDTA appointee

A . total of 45 fire. department. members tried to ex:
tinguish flames leaping up to 30 feet in the air, but only
‘a small:portable classroom was saved, from, the bloze.

Softer Ww

South Castlegar ‘water
users could be supplied with
softer water as early as this
winter, according to the city.

Brian Prentice and
Dan Geronazzo.  .
Appointment of the ar-

_‘bitration board was required

7More on page A2

works

Although the completion
of the entire $6 million Arrow
Lakes water system is not ;

expected until the end of.

May 22 veterans eye Feb. 18)

troduces a tough; ta

: Federal Finance Minister John. Crosbie in-
-imposing budget to the House of Commons.

THURSDAY, DEC. 13: ‘A: combined. Liberal and New Democratic
Party Vote defeats the Progressive Conservative minority government
139:to 133 with a. non-confidencte motion responding to the Crosbie

budget.
LFRIDAY, DEC. 14:.P

the date of a federal election.
TUES! 18: Liberal leader’ Pierre Elliot Trodeou forsakes
‘retirement plans to lead the party in another election. :
‘In ease you've lost track, those’ were the major developments so
far in preparations for’ Canadians’ (second federal election in seven

months. :

rime Minister Joe Clark slates Feb. 18, 1980, as:

On ‘page B3 ‘three veterans of. the May 22 election .in Kootenay
est ‘give the Castlegar News their reactions to the mid-winter elec-
on cail,-and outline their plans for a possible rematch.

On‘ page B2 are highlights of the budget which led to the defeat of

he Clark government

pump station
to pump water to the.No. 4
well in South Castlegar. .:
“We can push some
water south,” Lutz ‘said. “We

department ‘and RCMP “personne! in the search for

_lues tn, the rubble Monday and Tuesday. (See story

above. News /MitsotFotos, by! lols Huahes:

: will he pushing’ about 300 to

400 gallons a- minute which
will help a lot this winter.”

The water from the well,
mixed with Arrow Lakes
water, would still be part
groundwater but it would be
softer than the present sup-
ply, he said.

Conflict of interest
inquiry bid received

The B.C. inspector of ;

municipalities confirmed this
week that he has received
the request for an inquiry
into former alderman Jim
Gouk’s financial activities
during his term .on city

council. : ¥,
But R.W. Long, also
provincial deputy minister of
municipal affairs, told the
Castlegar News from Victor-
ia office he was “not in a
position to say” when he will
decide whether to grant the
invertig tion sought in a
Nov. 26 letter from nine city
residents who included Ald.
Len Embree’ and defeated
Bud

Although Gouk, as re-
quired under the Municipal
Act, waited outside. council
chambers throughout debate
over the rezoning bid, Em-
bree charged that council had
been compromised “in deal-
‘ing with the rezoing of land in
this city that's being con-

F P local
dearning facilities until‘a new "'

1981, ‘Alex Lutz “told city
council last week the newly-

opened first'.stage of the’
system will allow the- city’s

Lutz also told council the
city may have to drain all
dead-end lines.in North and
later South Castlegar: to
eliminate remaining hard wa-
ter.

“If we don't it might take .

months before (residents) get
soft water," he

‘eity council’

P
department's skill in fighting t!

he bi!

succesgiin saving-the small portal

ed ews Satur med

school-can be built:

Kinnaird. Elementary
students this week received a
five-day extension of Christ-
mas holidays.

And under a plan un-
veiled by the School District.

9 board Monday, two
BS will be held at Castle-
gar Primary and three at

Kinnaird Hall when school is
aed Jan, 7.

All three primary ‘class:
es will be held at Castlegar
Primary School. While 19
Grade 1 students occupy
vacant classrooms, 23 Grade
2 students will attend classes
in a portable unit and 49
Grade 3 students will attend

Grade 7 ata.
dents, occupy -the’ old: band ..
rooin at Kinnaird Junior Sec-
‘“ondary ‘and nine: individual

progress students will start
classes: at ‘either KJSS or

’ Kinnaird Hall.

After the plan was ex-'

si plained ‘by members of the

board, two representatives of
the destroyed school’s: par-
ent-teacher group expressed
concern over the safety of
students crossing. Seventh .

. Avenue South near Kinnaird

Hall and the danger of --
students finding live bullets
in the hall's basement, used
asa shotting range by.a local
pistol club.

The board assured mem
bers of the core committee -
safety factors and other
issues such as adequate bus-

“They'd have to. absorb all

]; the hard water.”
“We'll more than likely |

turn some hydrants on to
flush them so people know
that if it’s still hard in the
area and somebody else has

- got soft it's just a matter of

getting to it.”

Contacted this week,
Lutz said the interconnecting
station will feed the south
end of the city until it is re-
moved after completion of
the entire water system.

trolled and ped by
other member. of council.”

The application was re-
ferred to a public hearing in
early 1979 but was finally re-
jected by council Jan. 23.

an- °

Asked whether North
it id will

using Arrow Lakes water by
the end of this week, Lutz
said chlorine treatments of
the supply are now under
way but he “couldn't guar-
antee anything.”

classes in the b of the
building.

- In an open learning sit-
uation, 54 Grade 4

sing would. be pro-
vided.

The possibility of sing
the

will go ,to Kinnaird . Hall,
while 46 Grade 5

Complex for classrooms wis
seriously but

will go to the two vacant
classrooms at Twin Rivers
Elementary, 58 Grade 6

Page C4
in living
technicolor

The first full-color ad
ever run as a regular part of
the 82-year-old Castlegar
News appears on page C4 of
this issue.

The ad, for Wooleo at
Waneta Plaza, advertises
candy and chocolates for
Christmas.

Godderis and Harold Leslie.

. Submission of the letter
to Long was first announced
by Godderis, concluding,

along with Gouk, a two-year

aldermanic term at a city

WEEKEND WEATHERCAST

MAINLY CLOUDY

skios

Thursday with a good chance
of brief sunny periods. It will

ruled out because too many
community activities would
be disrupted, district super-
intendent John Holden said. ©
Ann Jones, af

ter the parent-teacher group
representatives cited’ possi-
ble dangers of using Kinnaird
Hall, said the scheme. was
“not an ideal plan but it js the
best we have, as teachers
agree.” Holden said tenders
for the new school could be
ready in six months and con-
struction could begin next
spring.

No teachers or staff
were laid off asa result of ee
fire.

SUPPLEMENTS
Canado Sateway
News. Mirror -- Christmas Greetings
SuperValu
News Mirror Santa Visits Casth t
(Not all supplements are included ip oll popers.) =

be mild and moist for the
weekend and basically cloudy.
Daytime highs of 4° to 6° with
overnight lows near 1°,

council meeting Nov. 26.
Citing a- provision under
Section 728 of the Municipal ,
Act for such an inquiry, he -
said he was concerned about
the potential’’use of con-
fi dential information avail- .
able to aldermen:

-* Gouk’s alleged conflict of
interest was first raised by. °
, Embree about one year ago’
during debate over a land
rezonging application by Ban-

shee Development Ltd., of
which. Gouk. was president.

Speaking of Your Health . .
eS Page B7
jpecial

. Page D6

. Page B7
Page D2

‘Ann Landers . Page C3
BillSmiley . . . . Page D3
Classified. Ads, Real
Estate and Automotive
Page!

Doug Pringle . -
Erma Bombeck
Job File

-Max Haines

‘D6 One Man's Opi

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