CASTLEGAR NEWS Thursday, August 17, 1978 Community Spirits Nev By BILL TIELEMAN (Reprinted from the Van- couver Sun.) Residents of Genelle say, their town will never be the same because of the uranium exploration going on in ita watershed area. They say it with a smile. The residents believe they face the potential destruction of, their community because a consortium of mining com- panies is the Mackenzie said residents of this West Kootenay town have been on an emergency footing since April, when they discovered that Manny Con- sultants Ltd. of Vancouver, working for the China Creek Uranium Consortium, had be- gun blasting and drilling for uranium ore samples on a hill less than three kilometres from the town and in their water- shed area, possibility of mining low-grade uranium ore from the hills behind the town. But despite their fears that radioactivity from the waste rock could contaminate China Creek, where the town gets its water, and also pollute their air with radioactive particles, Ge- nelle residents are in good spirits because they have united as a community to fight the exploration. And they be- Heve they will win. “‘Tve never been involved in my life in something so ful- filling," says Tom Mackenzie, 68, a retired maintenance su- pervisor who would rather be tending his garden than helping man a 24-hour citizen's block- ade of the roadway used by the consulting firm doing the ura- nium exploration. h have a variety of tactics to stop the exploration and the result has been a community spirit that never existed so strongly be- fore. The 70 residents attending a recent community meeting were as varied a group as one could find, ranging from young’ people to their grandparents and embracing all income lev- els, They discussed the finan- cial status of their protest, which is funded by contribu- tions, raffle ticket and bumper. sticker sales and benefits, and strategy to increase surveil- Jance of other access roads which lead to the drilling site and organized the blockade duty schedule. Some 200 people from the community of 500 are putting in time on the blockade and about! 60 are regularly putting in 18-hour days. The picketing was stepped up to 24 hours a day when a helicopter tried to remove ore samples, Herb McGregor, a smelter foreman who was one of three Genelle citizens arrested in July for obstructing the road to the exploration drilling site, says he and many others are willing to go to jail if necessary. “If I thought it would clear up the issue and stop uranium mining I'd gladly go to jail," he said. “I've made many friends since I got arrested.” For McGregor the protest, is a family affair. His wife Norma and their 18-year-old daughter Janet are now accus- tomed to spending all day at the blockade. Norma McGregor, who has taken to wearing a T-shirt stating, “Arrest uranium min- ners, not B.C. citizens,” said the failure of the provincial govern- ment to stop the uranium ex- ploration in their watershed has forced Genelle residents to fend for themselves. “We were nice people about this at first and said ‘they can't do this to us’ but that didn't get us anywhere,” __ Mackenzie, whose entire Entire Famities Involved in Uranium Protest er Stronger family is actively involved in the protest, said that it was only after the normal govern- ment channels had been ex- hausted that the town turned to, stronger action, “We found out that we couldn't get any help, until we made some waves,” he said, It was when the residents tried to find out what could be done to stop the uranium ex- Ploration that they discovered how powerless they were. The Mineral Act, written in 1893, does not give people in the area of a mine or those who actually own the surface property ade- quate protection from the haz- ards of uranium mining, Mac- kenzie said, “There is no in enters your property for ex- ploration. We have no pro- tection. They're destroying our and “ Minister Jim Chabot last Tues- of the hazards of uranlum day saida major problem facing mining. the legislators is their lack of He said the meeting with our watershed.” The Mineral Act does not provide the government with, any method of revoking a free miner's claim for any reason, including violation of the regu- lations, Ho said the provinclal government should introduce legislation to tighten its pow- ers. Manny Consultants’ permit to explore for uranium in the watershed area expires in 1980, Mackenzie said. 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Departures: December 26, January 9 and 23, February 6 and 20, March 6 and 20, April3 for further Information call West's Travel Agency 965-7782 Department Store Calgary for as little as 27, AIR TRAVEL AGENTS FOR ALL AIRLINES * Reservations * Accommodations 21 PINE STREET, CASTLEGAR - PHONE 365-7782 INNING CASTLEGAR NEWS SECTION _ ‘Page B1 Tender Called A big road reconstruction t ‘and improvement project be- ‘tween South Fork and Salmo, along the Southern Trans- ‘Provincial Highway 8, has been called for tender on Aug, 81, it was announced last Friday by highways minister Alex V. Fraser. - > Work to be done includes : grading, paving and electrical : requirements along the route which commences .38 kilo- metres east of the junction of Highways 3 and 6 at South Fork and extends northerly toa point .35 kilometres north and west of the junctions of the two highways at Salmo. Connec- tions to Highway 6 at South : Fork and Salmo are included in + the project, © This latest project is a continuation of the ministry of - highways upgrading and im- provement program for High- way 3 in the Nelson highway district. The Castlegar-Salmo link, a 26.7 kilometre project now almost complete and scheduled for opening this fall, is the major portion of the district's Highway 3 program for 1978, with other portions due for improvement later. The program now called for tender includes minor widening .and recapping of Cady Road and Glendale Ave- nue, and recapping Main Work consists of clearing and grubbing of 186 acres, excavation of 825,000 cubic yards of roadway for drainage, installation of 314,000 tons of gravel, 4,308 linear feet of culverts, 83,600 gallons of spray primer and tack coat and 35,540 tons of asphalt paving. ‘Kootenay Country’ Aid to Visitors A_ new Visitors’ Informa- tion Guide is now available, i the Koot try.” the free book features towns, cities, parks, golf Boundary Visitors’ Association, Called “Kootenay Coun- ‘APPOINTMENT Fi i Dave Horner Finning announces the ap- ; pointment of Dave Horner as manager of its Nelson opera- tion, replacing Gordon Cor- Feale who becomes manager, at Vernon, Dave joined Finning in 1975 asa general line sales rep- resentative in Terrace after at. taining his M.B.A. degree from the University of Western Ontario, Prior to that he was general manager of an Ontario industrial company. Finning sells and ser- ‘vices Caterpillar equipment, Gardner-Denver air compres- "sors and rock drills, Grove hydraulic cranes, JCB backhoe leaders, JLG and Smith Aerial work platforms from 51 loca- tions throughout British Columbia, the Yukon and the Mackenzie Valley, NWT. courses, and places of interest from just cast of Creston to Greenwood on the West. It also features com- munities as far north as Galena Bay. The magazine has a neat format of 80 pages with a full color photo of Christina Lake on the cover, All of the printing DETOUR BRIDGE, top teft, constructed on Pass Creek Road near Crescent Valley, will allow Nelson highways district crews to build concrete spans replacing those of an ~— older structure, centre, which was recently PLAN Kootenay Savings Credit Union | 24 : Earns Interest Daily. And that’s the big difference! ‘ See Our Adon Page B12. CASTLEGAR 365-3375 — SOUTH SLOCAN 359-7221 ° Conservationists Hit Hydro Chief torn down. A highways ministry spokesman sald construction has already started on tho. new bridge, although the completion date has not yet bean determined. Taken Off Black List West Kootenay residents have just suffered a blow to their opportunity to voice their opposition to the Kootenay Diversion according to a Save the Kootenay Committee spokesman. “In a perfect example of persuasion from the top, Rob- ert Bonner, chairman of B.C. Hydro, has nearly convinced directors of the Regional Dis- trict of Central Kootenay not to hold their planned referendum B.C. Drivers to Face Auto Insurance Hike B.C. drivers face an‘ auto insurance increase in 1979 of at least 10 to 12 per cent, Insurance Corp. of B.C, presi- Labor No Longer Frowns on Nelson’s Nelson's Store in Fruitvale as been removed from the West Kootenay labor council's black list after a long fight over the so-called right-towark is- sue. Nelson-Trail District La- bor council spokesman reported the former manager of Nelson's Store in’ Fruitvale, Barry Laing, no longer works there, and no further sanctions should be applied to the store. Laing is believed to have been secretary to the Indepen- dent Contractors and Busi- nessmen's Association, a busi- Foundation Begun For Nakusp Arena Volunteers and heavy-duty machinery last week moved work was a Kootenays. The guide is the official publication of the Kootenay Boundary Visitors’. A iti din the. appr 7,000 yards of dirt to prepare the grounds for Nakusp's new arena complex. Ernie Harding, chairman of the ad hoe committee of and will be distributed through- out the region at tourist infor- mation booths. There are 11 booths operating in the region, Over 50,000 copies of the Visitors’ Guide to Kootenay Country have been printed. In addition to local distribution to visitors, it will be sent to information centres throughout the northwest, mailed directly in answer to letters received, and circulated at travel and recreational shows from the Kootenay Country travel booth. council ding the re- construction, was extremely pleased with the work accom- lished on the weekend. his puts us about a month ahead on our plans for reconstruction,” he said. Couneil has given the com- miltee permission to proceed with the plans which were presented and have advanced them up to $100,000 of the expected insurance money to gel work underway. Crews were out last Tues- day morning with levels and TOMLIN Plumbing & Heating Ltd. transits attempting to get the excavation Lo grade so that the header boards for the new slab can be put in place. Harding also indicated ‘that the present cement slab-will be retained as tennis courts and the debris surrounding the slab will be removed as soon as possible. The new arena complex will be done in three stages. The first stage will be a new ice surface, underground to con- serve energy and to make the new ice plant more efficient in the warm spring months. The second stage will in- elude the construction of four shi f ice for curling which will ulilize the same ice plant as the hockey rink, The third stage will include an auditorium approximately 8,000 square feet situated above the curling rink. This is d to become a reality ATTENTION: Builders of New Homes! We have added Centra-Flo — bullt- in vacuum cleaning, services, that of Plumbing (water, sewer, septic and field tanks) & Heating. We will install this cleaning system, along with your at prices. to ‘our regular within the next couple of years. No final word has been received on the insurance pay- able. Volunteer forces are being for the next stage of i Mike Tomlin Walter Tomlin 365-5511 Castlegar 365-5034 istinction . . . Doors of D Interior Pre Hung Doors “In Mahogany and Embossed Finish Kootenay Builders Ltd. Choose from a large assortment of styles. We will also make frames, any size, for these Kootenay Builders! doors! In beautiful cedar to accent the front (or back) of your home! 663 Columbia 365-5155 construction which includes the forms for the footings and the slab. .Urae Lad Autopsy Results Preliminary results of an autopsy performed on the body of a New Denver boy found Aug. 4 after he disappeared July 27 show he drowned. RCMP said last Thursday the results show there is nothing to indicate foul play was involved in the death of Peter John Urae, 8. * The boy's body was found in Carpenter Creek which flows through New Denver, a West Kootenay village about 60 kilo- metres northwest of here, He had disappeared while collecting bottles with Chris. topher Allan Wells, 28, who is slightly mentally retarded. Wells is still missing. “Police said they will cease active investigation of the case, Wedding Invitations e Raffle Tickets CASTLEGAR NEWS ness group that supports laws banning closed union shops, The local labor council, as all of the Canadian labor move- ment, says a majority of workers in any business should retain the right to impose unionization on all workers in that business, Since December, the labor council has urged all union members not to shop at Nel- son's Store, the store has been picketed and on occasion union members have refused to handle goods delivered to va- rious sites by the firm. The most recent incident was Aug. 2 when members-of the Carpenters Union building the Waneta Plaza near Trail hesitated to touch material delivered by Nelson's Store, and said they would not work with anything else delivered by the outlet, Laber council represen- tative Darwin Benson, who recently was in the public eye as the successful mediator of the Trail civie dispute, issued a statement this week saying labor no longer frowns on Nelson's Store. The owner of the Fruitvale business, Werner Heitmann, said in a telephone interview last Wednesday that he never has been a member of the ICBA. Only Barry Laing, his manager, was secretary to the group, he said, and Laing did that‘on his own time. Benson's news release said Heitmann had taken disciplinary action dent Robbie Thursday. The increase will be “only” 10 to 12 per cent if ICBC is lucky and claims-cost increases for the rest of this year hold steady. Otherwise, he suggest- ed, the increase could be higher. Sherrell said keeping the rate increase on the low side of that range will depend on con- tinuation of certain favorable developments, One of these is ICBC's ability to meet old claims— those from previous years— out of reserves, something ICBC has been able to do “for about four months in a row,” Prior to that, settlement of old claims was running higher than reserves. Sherrell said Another is a continuation of settlement of each new claim for less, on average, than last year, although the number of claims is up. “Sherrell said that if these two circumstances continue, then drivers likely will see “the against Laing, but would not confirm this. He declined te say why Barry Laing no longer works for him. normal y probably on the bottom side of what private industry is talking about, maybe 10-12 per cent.” on the Kootenay Diversion," said Ellen Schwartz last Thurs- day. She noted Bonner says that holding the referendum— which would presumably show strong opposition to the project will jeopardize Hydro's bar- gaining position with United States concerning di- version of the Kootenay River. “Many people, however, doubt Hydro's motives in pre- senting that argument. Un- fortunately, Hydro’s track rec: ord of broken promises and mis- representations to the people of the West Kootenays is too clear to ignore,” said Schwartz. “Moreover, it is hard to believe that public protestation against the Kootenay Diversion could have so serious an effect on Hydro's position vis-a-vis the United States. “Opposition to .the Diver- sion has been vocal and strong in the West Kootenay for some time; the same is true of U.S. environmental and citizens’ groups’ stand against further manipulation of the Kootenay River, and governments on both sides of the border are aware of this opposition—so why all the hush-hush about what the referendum might reveal? ‘“Many people are con- cluding that Hydro simply wanted to squelch public oppo- sition to the Kootenay Diver- sion—after all, this is the first lime that a municipality or local government has initiated a public plebiscite on any project proposed by B.C. Hydro—and it appears that Bonner very han- dily talked the Regional Dis- trict Directors into co-operat- ing,” she said. See SATERILLAR Want to paint your equipment? Don't wait for the weather Don't put off painting large equipment because it has to be done outside and you can't depend on the weather. Finning’s Nelson paint shop is climate controlled, filtered, and large enough to handle everything from vans to logging trucks, from buses to heavy equipment. And our professional jouneymen painters are the people to give you a satisfaction-guaranteed paint job in the fastest time possible. From touch-ups to complete paint jobs depend on Finning, not the weather. Phone Jim Cherry, 352-6622, for a quick quote. FINNING leer erroenmeera 402 Lakeside D. Phone 352-6622