214 Saturday, October 24, 1992 With several things to talk about this week, it seems pointless to focus on one when more than one exist. As I sit here, my blood pressure and body temperature are a little higher because of what’s been going on in the United States for the last week. It seems our friends south of the border, being the cave-dwellers they are, can’t seem to grasp the fact that America’s national pastime has a cer- tain Canadianess about it. Can it be that a team from the Great White North would dare to vie for something as American as apple pie and Mom? Perish the thought! Yup, those Toronto Blue Jays have finally made it to the World Series. Seizing an opprtunity to make Canada look stupid and deny any knowledge of it, some genius took it upon him or herself to give a marine an upside down Canadian flag to hold during the national anthems before last Saturday’s opening game. Deciding to get in some final apolo- gies while his mailing address still reads “White House, Washington, D.C., USA” U.S. President George Bush profoundly said sorry to the peo- ple of this country. Sorry is a good word for it. With the series switching to Toron- to for game three Tuesday, CBS decid- ed to humor us with their look at base- ball in Canada on the pre-game show. Pouncing on the fact that Toronto's roster doesn’t contain one Canadian, we saw commentator Bill Geist ask Dominincan-born utility man Alfredo Griffin where in Canada he was from. Hilarious. As well, we heard things like “If San Jose can have a hockey team, then why shouldn't Toronto have a baseball team” and a customs officer greeting Geist in french when the crew landed in Toronto. The capper was when they signed off by showing some kids playing base- ball with the catcher in goalie equip- ment and them using a hockey stick in place of a bat. What a classic example of some- thing being offensive and narrow minded — American trademarks. Someone named Lou D’ermilio re- turned my call when I couldn’t find producer Eric Mann at CBS in New York and, not surprisingly, defended the piece. “It was meant to be humorous and satirist,” he said. “It isn’t the opinion on the Spot JonathanGREEN of everybody in the United States.” Sure. And I’m voting no on Monday. eee Moving on to something guaran- teed not to raise’ blood pressure or body temperature, men of scholastics and editorial in town are looking sharp in some hot new ties. Getting in on a catalogue I picked up in Minneapolis, teachers and re- porters alike are modelling neckwear with everything from the Pittsburgh Steelers to Buckwheat to Rodin’s Thinker for a design. With Christmas just around the Let’s talk about ties, soccer and CBS corner and dads, brothers, boyfriends and the like are always needing at least one more tie or pair of Boo Boo boxers, and J-O-T-S can help you out. Give me a call. eee Finally, life is a little less painful now that the soccer season has ended. Strapping on the boots after some 15 years away from the game, I kind of felt like the 40-year-old returning to school when the first match rolled around. It was nice to know that the game hadn’t changed very much after so long away, apart from the fact that skinned knees and bumps as boys had been replaced by concussions and deep bone bruises as men. I loved it. Sure, I was somewhere around the 13th best guy in a sport designed for 11, but who cares. Someone had to keep the bench warm. Looking back on things like my winning goal and yellow card in Ross- land and the great guys I on my team and that memorable tournament in Penticton, I’m like the kid who can’t wait for Christmas for the next season to begin. Is it April yet? Seniors wind down golt season with Tombstone and died on the front nine. They will be remembered — with golf balls. George grooved and groomed his golf swing as a lad of 12 years on beat. dusty Saskatchewan during the hungry 30s, went on to card a gross score of 38 and die on the front nine with honor, guaran- teeing himself a golf ball. Other ball winners were Carl Henne, Zeke Clements Walter Janicki, Bill Oleski, Al Laranko, Charlie Christiansn, Gerry Rust, Bob Foubister, Nick Oglow and myself. Any player who reached the 18th hole or beyond was re- warded with a golf ball. Some bouquets to be hand- ed out in the season ending column to those people who made the year more enjoyable: to club professionals Denny McArthur, Kevin Biln and Steve Johnston, to course su- perintendent Nick Shersto- bitoff and his crew and to the club executive. For the final word, an ex- cerpt from a poem penned by myself Days.” w Local pensioners put away the golf clubs and dig out the curling brooms Bud Lowther NEWS CONTRIBUTOR On Oct. 8, 43 pensioners played the back nine with the Howard Anderson trophy on the line for low net. Art Henne took the honors and the trophy by shooting a gross 38, which gave him a low net of 29. Ball winners were Miles Ringheim, Herb Woods, Gerry Wichert, Dick Wayling, Walter Janicki, Gord Pettitt, Frank Steenvoorden, Bill Oleski, Bill Shay, Floyd Bacon and John Moran. On Oct. 15, there was the Directors Luncheon and our final show for the season called the Tombstone. There were 34 golfers who were each given a sharp stick with their nine-hole handicap written on the side. This was the number of strokes they were allowed to take on the back nine before they died and placed their sticks in the nd. eo sad to walk over the stakes of some of my fallen comrades as I approached the 18th fairway and into the cup on the 18th green, where I ex- the I shot my nine-hole handi- cap exactly on target, while a € few others bravely went on fell. ‘With the autumn rains Our summer dreams will end, But memories will remain — As leaves fall again, To cover up so well — Where our summer footsteps NEWS STAFF Crossley, who plains of Border Bros. ondary level. Early season action in the Regional Super Volley Chal- lenge is showing the Kootenay Volleyball Club as the team to Winners of both matches last week, KVC continued their winning ways in the five- team league Monday with wins over both.the Selkirk Saints and the Brew Shop League president Mike Per- ra said familiarity and experi- ence have been the key to KVC's success. He said that the majority of the squad played high school ball at Mt. Sentinel and went on to play at the post-sec- KVC tops in the SVRC Hi Kootenay Volleyball Club looking good in early men’s league play college,” he said. kills.” spots. “When it comes down to playoffs, I don’t think any team can guess they’re going to make it,” he said. the college. “T can’t think of anyone on the team that hasn't played at With their level of play, KVC is elevating the skills of the other four teams, and Per- ra said this is showing. He said that statistics for the first two weeks show that wins have to be earned. “Looking at the sheets, the number of points scored on errors are way down,” he said. “Most of the points are being scored on And Perra said with that improved play comes a fight for the four available playoff Action resumes Monday at Bluetop Burger HOT ROAST BEEF SANDWICH worn, SAT All Our Prices Include G.S.T. Starting September 20 WINTER HOURS - 10 A.M.-8 P.M. 1521 Columbia Ave. Call Ahead Drive Through Service score ATHLETE OF THE WEEK Curlers Practice Ice ALL CONCESSIONS OPENI!! MARK GRAFF Castlegar Rebels Had 4 goals in Rebels’ victories over Golden and Beaver Valley By CASTLEGAR entitled “Autumn MINI BONSPIEL & FUN NIGHT Wednesday, Oct. 28 — 7 p.m. - ALL CURLERS WELCOME ° (Club members and non-members REGISTRATION 6:30-7:00 P.M. Ice available for more teams in the regular season. Register during Fun Night. Regular Season begins November 2. SPORTS CENTRE Informed Competant Professional Service * Hockey Equipment * Skate Sharpening (FIGURE AND HOCKEY) * NHL Replica Jerseys * Used Skates 365-8288 2177 Columbia Ave., Castlegar e @ Saturday, October 24, 1992 Nine to FIVE Your business is our business Neil Rachyski 365-7266 KEEP AN EYE OUT Video fiends should keep an eye on the Castleaird Plaza. Come Nov. 14 Valley Video makes its move to a new, larger 3,600 square foot store. Valley Video will be located between Dairy Queen and Subway. HOUSING STARTS Construction of U.S. single-family homes and apartments in September were the highest they've been for the last six months. Analysts figure the 1.4 per cent increase, coupled with a rise in the number of building permits issued, will help stabilize the market and assist future growth. HOUSING DEAL An agreement in principle has been reached between Canadian Maple Leaf Financial Corp. and Concord Pacific Developments Ltd. The deal would see more than one million square feet of social housing developed .on the old Expo 86 site. Canadian Maple Leaf only went public on the Toronto stock Exchange in June. orRPLACE Minding their own business Mi Local businesses ready to strut their stuff and pat their backs Neil Rachynski NEWS STAFF Castlegar’s small businesses get their On Tuesday at the Fireside Inn they will present a seminar called Professional Selling Skills in the 90s. “It’s really for anybody who sells in their business,” Peabody said. On Friday, FBDB will team up with the service. The awards have been broken down into 11 categories, ranging from retail outlets to non-profit organizations. Chamber members will vote on who they feel has outstanding performance and salute this week. From Oct. 25 to Oct. 31 activities across the country will hail the entrepreneurial spirit. The event is Small Business Week. The Federal Business Development Bank is a co-sponsor of the event. After holding a series of local seminars last week, an FBDB spokesperson says Castlegar Castlegar and District Chamber of Commerce for an awards luncheon. Chamber manager Renee Read said the 1992 People’s Choice Business Awards recognizes the contributions small businesses make within the community. “It shows businesses they're appreciated,” Read said. “What I’m trying to get out there is the support for our chamber members. In addition, the chamber and the FBDB will also present a Customer Service Excellence Award. “It’s an award to acknowledge a business that has gone out of its way to help a customer — who go above and beyond the call of duty,” Peabody said. “They’re people who don’t take their customers for granted.” Peabody says it’s all part of being businesses have a good attitude. “There’s a real positive atmosphere in the business community,” FBDB training and counselling manager Barbara Peabody said. “It means to me people want to do better.” FBDB is a Crown corporation that promotes small and medium sized businesses. They offer companies with a variety of services, including loans, venture capital and counselling. News photo by Neil Rachynski Chamber of Commerce manager Renee Read is ready to promote Small Business Week. positive and focusing on good service. With an improvement in service, she says, that’s one less reason for customers to go cross-border shopping. In addition to the awards, the luncheon will feature guest speaker Sandy Highet, vice-president of the FBDB. In a viciously competitive market, the message being sent to small businesses seems to be one of co-operation. “We have to support our local businesses,” Read said. “Small businesses are the backbone of our economy. Where would we be without them?” Perseverance pays off in local pesticide fight Issues can come and go so quietly around here it’s scary. Imagine all the news-worthy events that are happening in our community right now that we'll never hear about. Those stories are out there... I can feel it. But every once in a while, when a story falls between the corporate or political cracks, someone takes a close look — and they just won't let it rest. Case in point. Thrums resident Nina Koodrin called me about a month ago claiming victory over Emcon Services Inc. The highway maintenance company had applied in June to spray pesticides around Castlegar, Grand Forks and Rossland, just to name a few areas. Koodrin was so excited that she, along with other residents and officials like Mayor Audrey ( ar % y =. i 7S The Bottom Line | Neil RACHYNSKI Moore, were able to convince the province not to allow Emcon to spray around Castlegar. I was happy for Koodrin, but I didn’t see what the big deal was. I mean, they told the province they didn’t want any pesticide spraying and the government said OK. A case study that suggests the system works, but nothing more. I called Moore and she downplayed the event, in effect saying, ‘Aw, shucks, just doing my job.’ Well, with everything having gone so smooth for the city and Koodrin, my story lacked conflict. Heck, even Stuart Craig of the B.C. Pesticides Control Branch in Penticton didn’t return my calls. But Koodrin wouldn't let go. Averaging a phone call every week or two, she kept asking when the story would run. “People should know about this,” she kept saying. “This is a real victory for us. Maybe they’re playing it down, but hey, we got what we wanted.” Yeah, I thought, and you got what you wanted with no hassles. You’re fortunate. But here’s the rub, friend and neighbors. Four years ago there were hassles with pesticide spraying near Castlegar — hassles big enough to get the Supreme Court involved. In 1988, the B.C. Court of Appeal denied a Regional District of Central Kootenay request to overturn a Supreme Court decision. That decision allowed CP Rail to spray the herbicide Spike on rail lines from Castlegar to Nelson. As a result, some 150 resi- dents held vigils while others blocked the tracks at the risk of being arrested, convicted and having a criminal record. The locals eventually won, but it was like ing teeth. In light of the ’88 fiasco, Koodrin’s right; it is a victory. She says the province considers ours a sensitive area, and I don’t know if that means politically or ecologically. And while Emcon trucks are spraying near Rossland and Grand Forks, we can thank people like Koodrin whose unsung battles save us all one big headache.