October 18, 1987 ESTABLISHED AUG. 7, 1947 THe MUO wl 3: SS. snasanen OF THE B.C. PRESS COUNCH TWICE WEEKLY MAY 4, 1980 9. prowded. Newey ver So coprrah in tat Sart tod tres part only A the odvertwer shell remain wn ond A bit clearer Premier Bill Vander Zalm’s plan to move government closer to the people by dividing British Colum- bia into eight regions became a bit clearer when he named the eight cabinet ministers responsible for them, and announced the for- mation of special economic study groups. Municipal Affairs Minister Rito Johnston will head up the Kootenay region, and she was probably one of the better choices at least from a Kootenay per- spective. Granted, she represents an urban riding — Surrey — and may not be that familiar with the problems facing Interior rural areas such as the Kootenays. However, her ministry is crucial for community development, much moreso than other cabinet ministers like Advanced Education Minister Stan Hagen, who will be responsible for Vancouver Island- Coast, or Social Services Minister Claude Richmond, who will have the Okanagan under his wing. The selection of Nelson-Creston MLA Howard Dirks as Mrs. John- ston’s parliamentary secretary was natural; Mr. Dirks is the only government member from the Kootenays. But that also raises some concerns for those of us who are not located within Nelson- Creston. When thé decentralization plan was first announced, Mr. Dirks —a former Nelson alderman — rushed forward to tout Nelson as the logical centre for any ad- ministrative offices, ignoring even Creston, a community which he also represents. Let's hope that kind of “me-first” attitude is shelved as Mr. Dirks works on behalf of not only his riding’s constituents, but on behalf of everyone within the Kootenay region. And therein lies the second con- cern with the newly-created regions. If the plan is to truly decentralize provincial gover- nment and Premier Vander Zalm is ernest in turning over decision- making power to local elected of- ficials, then the cabinet minister and her parliamentary secretary should play a secondary role in the region. They should be there to oversee po: le developments and to perhaps guide them through any rough waters. But they cer- tainly shouldn't be there as a sort of mini-government of their own. As for the concern that Op- position MPs like Rossland-Trail MLA Chris D’Arcy and “Wake up, Elmer, you've been i regional rep to maximize our existing resource base inventory, decentralizationwise."’ Remember ae When? = 40 YEARS AGO From the Oct. 16, 1947 Castlegar News A meeting called by the hospital committee, appointed by the Knights of Pythias, was held on Friday. night with the following persons present: Mrs. A. Saunders, Mr. E.. Lewia, Mr, R.A.D. West, Mr. H. Pitts, Mr, R. Kerr and Mr. H. Vickers. Mrs. Saunders was appointed secretary. It was decided at this meeting to send a letter out to every organization and club in the district asking them to appoint a representative, with power to act, to attend a meeting to be called early in November. At this time the committee hopes to have information on hospital equip- ment and costs. . 28 @ A Bickle-Seagrave booster pump and trailer has arrived for the fire department. It was purchased through War Asset Corporation. This type of pump was used during MLA Anne Edwards might be bypassed because of the new plan, it doesn’t really hold much water. It really won't be any different than the present syste Currently, municipalities seeking something from Victoria may speak to their MLA, but they don't rely solely on that approach. They also make an appeal to the provincial government, either through other avenues like the Union of B.C. Municipalities, regional districts, or directly to the istry itself. Aquatic dream The photographs in Wednesday's Street Talk column of the Grand Forks aquatic centre were inten- ded not only to let local residents see the new facility, but to show the kind of centre Castlegar could have. The Castlegar Project Society has been working hard on plans for an aquatic centre and has pret- ty well everything in place — everything, that is, but the money The society's major stumbling block is the provincial government. The society is still trying to convin- ce Victoria to loosen restrictions on the amount of money it will provide from its lottery fund. If it does, the society will also need approval for funds from local taxpayers to help pay for the new centre. Mike Rodgers Editor's mote: Mike Rodgers, president of the Castlegar and Dis- trict Teachers’ Association, takes over editor Ron Norman's spot this week on the editorial page with » special guest column. Rodgers was top bidder for the space at the West Rast N 7 Centre’s Not Your Usual Auction, last month. The auction was held to pay off some of the NEC's debt. Health Minister Peter Dueck said it best when he last visited Trail where he told reporters, “Premier Vander Zalm makes some statement and then the ministers and civil servants have to rush around to find policy to fit the statements.” Well, Vander Zalm has done it again! We now are going to have “Passports for Excellence.” He had to do something with the surplus of Expo passports, so why not another insane pronouncement about edu cation? But wait, we don't want to be labelled “bad BCers” again. So let's forget about the pressures put on 14 year olds to finance their own futures; let’s forget about the pres. sure put on teachers to give inflated marks or ruin a family financially We won't even think about the difficulty of running the program; is it the top 30 per cent of each class, of each school, of each district, of the province who receive a stamp on the passport? Let's not concern ourselves with the fact that this is only for academic subjects and the govern ment is in fact saying that ex cellence in music, woodworking, sewing, sports or art is of no value to society. We should forget that these passports are only for those students who will attend a uni versity or college in B.C. Of course students who choose to be plumbers, electricians or work in real estate or the family business should not get any financial help. Let's treat this idea with the importance that Vander Zalm’s whimsy deserves; let's apply it to all walks of life, not just to students. Why don’t we start “Passports for Pensions.” Every time that we as adults do something right we will get a passport stamp which we can turn in at Tetirement for pension benefits. On the other hand, when we do not live up to other peoples’ expectations we will have one of our stamps cancelled. If the editor of the Castlegar News puts out a “typo-free” paper he and all his staff should get a stamp; but they would lose one stamp for every “typo” that the public finds. Every local business- man would lose a stamp every time a customer complains about poor service, postmen could lose stamps every time the mail is late and the local RCMP would lose stamps whenever they fail to catch a speeder. Best of all, we could take stamps from the city workers every single time the power goes out or they fill the end of our driveways up with snow. If we expect Grade 9 students to live with this pressure, surely we adults should be willing to live with the fear of actually owing money back to Canada Pension Plan when we finally retire. Could we deduct stamps from Vander Zalm's passport every time he fails to live up to his campaign promises? Could this really be happening in democratic country in the late 20th century? In a province where the premier lives in a castle surrounded by fantasy gardens, anything can happen. Letters to the Editor Oilers still favorite Re: Surj Rattan’s column “Cocky Oilers Lose.” I can't help but shake my head in disgust at Surj Rattan’s attempt to accuse the Edmonton Oilers hockey club of being cocky. Note my obvious bias of course. I just moved here a month ago from Edmonton and the only thing worse and more adamant than an Oilers’ fan is a Habs’ fan. At any rate, Rattan seems to suddenly have confused pride for cockiness. Why shouldn't a hockey team holding the game's biggest prize stand a little taller? The Oilers have done more for themselves and the NHL in the relatively short time since they joined the league, whereas, say, a team like the Canucks have done . . . jerseys look lovely. So the Oilers had an opening game ceremony celebrating the Stanley Cup, great! Last year's win should be this year's grin. It's theirs till another team comes and takes it away. Can you say “playoffs”, Rattan? That’s what the Oilers are, a playoff team. The regular season is simply a time to break more NHL records. (Cocky enough for ya?) As for your player profile of Mark Messier, who, according to your SOURCES has a real mean streak: You say you know someone who knows the Oiler stickboy who would know Mark Messier? Wow! Surj Rattan, a Wood- ward and Bernstein rolled into one! I'll well, the New Democrat move not necessarily bad A few comments regarding the decision of one of our political parties tu run candidates in our area municipal elections. This is not necessarily a bad thing, just because in the past municipal elections were supposed to be non political. There always has been a degree of bias, based on politics, in selecting and supporting candidates for municipal office. If open support by a political party brings out a greater degree of public participation in selecting a more representative city council, then it will have served a useful purpose. A candidate with a middle of the road political persuasion should be able to draw on the good points from both the left and the right of the political spectrum. These good points can be used to direct the affairs of our city for the benefit of the local el bet your grandmother's-friend’s-daugh- ter’s-brother-in-law'’s-plumber says that Islander Billy Smith is a real dear. Or maybe you have a cousin whose third aunt's-parakeet's-mate's-off- spring insists that Toronto's Wendell Clark brakes for bunnies. Come on! Mean streak or not, what does that have to.do with cocky? As for No. 99, tell me please what his new girlfriend has to do with this alleged Stanley Cup boasting? Note as well, Surj, that when you recall stories of coach and GM Glen Sather they are all playoff stories. You must be the only sucker sports reporter left who doesn’t know that “Slats” always draws attention to himself in the playoffs to ease the media load on the players. It's old hat, it’s strategy, and it's not cocky. So, as a new resident of Castlegar, B.C., I'm still sticking with my favorite team, (that’s what it’s all about) and you, Surj, will be able to find me in the pub during the NHL playoffs, sipping my suds, sitting a little taller, a smile on my face, and wearing my favorite shirt . . . an Oilers jersey. Neil A.J. Rachynski Castlegar In my opinion, office should not be used to promote one's political aspirations, particularly when this promotion is done at the expense of the local taxpayer. An effective city council should work as a team, with the general good of the community as the ultimate goal. I trust the electorate will use this criteria, in selecting candidates for the forthcoming municipal elections. N.T. Ogiow Castlegar Please address all Letters to the Editor to: The Castlegar News, P.O. Box 3007, Castlegar, B.C. VIN 3H4, or deliver them to our office at: 197 Columbia Avenue, Castle- gor, B.C. Letters must be signed ond include the writer's tull nome ond address. Only in very ‘exceptional cases will letters be published without the writer's name. Nevertheless, the name ond address of the writer must be disclosed to the editor The Costlegor News reserves the right to edit letters for brevity, clarity, legality ond grammer. RESTORED ‘LUSTRE’ Fraser's work By WARREN CARAGATA Canadian Press OTTAWA 47 There are times when the House of Commons seems more like a brawling waterfront bar than it dges_an august: chamber of debate so, when John Fraser was elected as Speaker a year ago, the first advice he got was to knock some heads to restore decorum. It was advice he ignored. While there are still times when the House erupts into an unseemly chorus of desk-pounding, catcalls and heckling, Fraser has restored some of the lustre to the showpiece of Canadian democracy. Fraser, a chunky Conservative MP from Vancouver, is the first Commons Speaker to be elected by his peers It took 11 hours and 11 ballots “but the excellent choice that we made on that historic night has demonstrated that this new procedure serves mem- bers well,” NDP House leader Nelson Riis told the Commons recently “The obvious respect that mem bers have for you,” Riis told Fraser, “has brought a renewed e of “The Speaker is not a policeman,” Fraser said during an interview in his office. “A Speaker has to recognize that passions can run pretty high and people do lose their tempers — the job of the Speaker is to contain it so it doesn't get out of hand.” Fraser knew that democracy wouldn't be served by throwing all the MPs out of the chamber and he had been an MP long enough to recognize that lecturing MPs on how to behave wouldn't work either. So he watches their eyes, the mirrors of mounting agitation, and uses a combination of dry humor and common sense to maintain order. He brings to the job a lot of respect for the institution. There's a big and stern portrait on the wall of his office of Winston Churchill during the war years just to remind him how important the institu- tion can be. lauded ropes. “When I became Speaker, I could almost hear his voice.” Liberal House leader Herb Gray says Fraser “aims to be fair and to appeal to the best instincts of members the war for p1 in army camps. 8 6 At Leitner's, top coats are selling for $34.00. 25 YEARS AGO From the Oct. 18, 1962 Castlegar News A letter to Attorney-General Bonner asking that “nothing whatever be done” by his department to make necessary or desirable the return of the Sons of Freedom to the West Koote- nay, has been sent to the Castlegar Chamber of Commerce's terrorist committee. W.T. Waldie, committee chairman, on instructions from the chamber's last meeting, wrote Mr. Bonner “that as this present migration to points west is a dispersal, we strongly suggest that nothing whatever be done by your department to make it necessary, or to make it appear desirable to them that they return to the West Kootenay.” o 8 6 Celgar feels “no constructive pur- pose” can be served by exchanging with Castlegar council “isolated ques- tions and answers, on such a highly technical subject” as the problems as- sociated with kraft pulp mill air pollution and its control. It has written council that it is company policy “to continue a vigorous program aimed at minimizing any nuisance associated with the operation of the kraft pulp mills. 15 YEARS AGO From the Oct. 19, 1972 Castlegar News Residents of Castlegar and Kin- naird — and of Robson, Blueberry, Ootischenia, Fairview and points in be- tween — may vote in December on the of a district muni for this area. The possibility arises as a result of a meeting held by the twin cOuncils of Castlegar and Kinnaird with Municipal Affairs Minister Jim Lorimer last week. * 8 6 Pass Creek may have a new three roomed school. The board of trustees for School District No. 9 passed a motion Monday asking the department of education permission to borrow for the purpose of building a new school building at Pass Creek. This followed a lengthy discussion at which trustee balanced the pros and cons of building a new school or busing the students. * 8 Castlegar council voted Tuesday night to advise the provincial govern- ment that it is not intending to pursue the subject of a business tax for the as pari ians and to MPs to work out issues before they become major issues on the floor of the house.” Justice Minister Ray Hnatyshyn says Fraser is unflappable and “has a judicial presence” that earns him the respect of fellow MPs. The job requires Fraser to be non- partisan but he says you cannot do the job by being political. To deal with the Commons, a Speaker must have as good a handle on political issues as MPs, maybe better. Managing the Commons is only part of the $120,000-a-year job that also carries the perk of a home in the Gatineau Hills north of the city. The Speaker also runs a $168-mil- What makes the i work is the right of free speech for members but “there can’t be free speech without order — ible order.” civility, dignity and respect to this House.” Cabinet men| Fraser’s role model is Lucien Lamoureux, a onetime Liberal who backbenchers, Liberals and New Dem ocrats, all praise Fraser's fairness, his sense of humor and his sense of what former speaker John Bosley called the “rhythms of the place.” became an MP after being named Speaker in 1965. Lamoureux was in the chair when Fraser was first elected in 1972 and Fraser took careful notes of how Lam- oureux operated to help him learn the lie jon with a staff of 1,800 people who do everthing from making sandwiches and fancy meals to recording debates and helping Fraser make procedural rulings. Fraser, a lawyer by training, was mamed to the cabinet by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney after the 1984 election as minister of fisheries. He resigned a year later following a scandal about rotting tuna from a fish plant in New Brunswick. at this time. 5 YEARS AGO From the Oct. 17, 1982 Castlegar News The Oct. 25 deadline for municipal and school board nominations is little more than a week away and at this point it is still difficult to tell if there will be much of a race — let alone who will be running. Incumbent Ald. Len Embree is the only candidate to file nomination papers. Embree will defend his two- year seat in the November 2 election. * 8 6 The Castlegar and District Tea- chers’ Association feels it would be un- fair for teachers to lose another pro- fessional day next month in view of legislation requiring them to work an equivalent of five days without pay between January and June. As well, passage of Bill 89, the School Services (Interim) Aet means teachers could lose up to an.additional six paid non-instructional days unless they agree to forgo at least one paid non-instructional day to save money. se rater tenner mt MORE LETTERS — Barnes visit enjoyable Just a few about my request to have Emery Barnes visit Salmo and Kootenay Stone Centre. 1 wanted him to see all the positive things going on in Salmo, but probably more importantly, ML aleo wanted to show. him 4th Street and the federal work program where unemployed are doing a beautiful job on the Rotter Building, Salmo’s Expo Legacy Project, and where I had been training young " people to do stone masonry at Koote- nay Stone Centre. Mr. Barnes is the NDP’ Youth Critic, so I felt he would find it in- teresting to see how these things are working. I do not agree with govern- ment grants that create unfair com- petition to free enterprise businesses, but I feel that though these programs Heartsick pet owner wants cat returned This letter is directed to whoever took my pet from Salmo on Thursday, Oct. 1. Up to that day I owned a beautiful calico cat. Her name is Chrissy and she has been spayed. She has a white chest with orange patches and 11 black heart-shaped markings on her back, face and legs. On that Thursday evening I let her out about 6 p.m. and that was the last time that I saw her. Since we live in the apartments next to Trapper John's Restaurant I suppose whoever took her may have seen her in the parking lot. Maybe they thought she was a stray and needed a home, although anyone with half-decent eyesight could see how fat and well cared for she was. If it was just that they wanted a cat, don't they know that the animal Have we gone too far? According to an interview with a NASA spokesman on As It Happens Oct. 1, NASA funded two airborne laboratories — one a converted U2 spy plane, one a DCS jetliner — to fly into the Antaretie during “hole” season (ap- parently, in the Antarctic winter, an area the size of the United States now loses 50 per cent of its ozone layer over Anaretica) to study what was happen- ing there. In the unique conditions prevailing in the upper atmosphere over Ant- aretica which include extreme cold, an absence of water vapor, and a lower concentration of an oxide of nitrogen, a giant-sized reactor in the atmosphere over the Antarctic is created where CFC'’s become much more reactive shelters and pounds are full of poor stray animals that will be destroyed if they can't be pees. It certainly isn't I got this cat as a kitten four years ago and have taken her with me every- where that my job requires me to go. It is now time for me to return to my home in Quesnel and I am heartsick that I will have to leave without her. If the person who took her has a heart at all, please return her to me. They can phone either 357-2056 or 357-9657 and leave a message for me or write to me at RR#5 Nazko Road, Quesnel V2J 3H9 and I will arrange to have her picked up. Deanna J. Young. Salmo than had formerly been predicted, and enormous unpredicted quantities of ozone are destroyed, creating the “hole.” This is a comforting theory from one perspective, as one wouldn't prefict the, occurrence of such. condi- tions over our heads. On the other hand, no one understands what is happening exactly, or in much detail, yet. If you look at it as a gigantic ozone obliterator, as this explanation re- quires you to, the fact that the “hole” appears yearly, and with increasing size every time, would tend to worry you if you were an ozone layer, or happened to need one. Perhaps we've gone too far at last in our unbelieveable cultural arrogance and this is it. Surely this is enough evidence to convince us to stop producing and re- Vander Zalm like By DAPHNE BRAMHAM Canadian Press are not the whole answer to the unem- Salmo Ski Hill project and meet with Eaglewood president Steve. Miller. Others felt it was even less important for him to see the rest, so he miased out on the apple pie a la rock I'd made for him (pie with a “weleome” rock on top). But I enjoyed the visit I did have with Emery. He has kind eyes, a jovial personality and a good heart, even if he isa little mixed up — and boy is he tall! Henry had to take two pictures to get us both in. Emery seemed surprised at some of my views and said I had given him much food for thought. We plan to keep it I feel and discussing the why's and where- fore’s of your beliefs is the answer to- wards resolving differences. There are things we will probably never agree on, but there are many things we can all work together on to make the world a better place. Thank you to those who invited me to the meeting. And hey, Salmo, if we are not at five per cent unemployment, let's work towards it. Better yet, let’s go for 100 per cent employment of the employable! Maybe our MLA would see that we get a nice community prize! the federal government have. dabbled in regionalism, sprinkling an office here and an agency there. But B.C. government officials say Details of how it will work are scanty and there is gen- eral confusion about what decentralization will mean. The New Democrat Op- position isn’t taking any of it and the sheik of Shuswap, but he would like members of the legislature to have more information and a chance to talk about it. However, a recent exam- ple of massive decentraliza- tion has been raised by geo- graphy professor Douglas Porteous at the University of Victoria. He points to Chile under Gen. Augusto Pinochet Tris Bakken Salmo leasing into the atmosphere any more CFCs. Unfortunately, it isn't. Pro- duction and uses are slated by inter- national agreement to go on for years ahead. For the convenience of industry, in our chemically pickled culture, we will Staftto phase out CFCs while studying the situation. Some good can come out of this, of course. Maybe this is the time when we all go through the wringer, a global en- vironmental catastrophe, an event big enough to force our culture to accept its limits, and start to make the kind of difficult decisions that will lead to a more secure future for those who are left. ties to traditional regions. “Decentralization, ostens- ibly created to improve local control of local affairs, can easily be used to enhance "he says, reek regional gover- EIGHT NAMED The first step in Vander Zalm's grand scheme was to elevate eight cabinet min- isters to “ministers David Lewis Crescent Valley cocoa on ERTO Shop Now For SELECTED are WATCHES By Seiko, Bulova, Pulsar, Citizen, Lorus SAVINGS FROM SELECTED DIAM WED 20% . 50% D RINGS G RINGS BIRTHSTONE RINGS (* GIFTWARE, GOLD AND SILVER CHARMS AND CHAINS SAVINGS FROM 0% . 50% Prices in effect to October 24, 1987 Only LIMITED.QUANTITIES — WHILE SUPPLIES LAST LAUENER BROS. JEWELLERS wele got of love! Trail — 368-9533 to regional of state.” Next, nine Social Clean-up planned OTTAWA (CP) — The grounds around a Terry Fox statue in the heart of the city help oversee each region's '1-million budget. Eventually, the premier wants both the budgets tional role of members of the legislature would?” be ly particular! in Opposition, admitted a eee. 87° VANDER ZALM : the U.S. of B.C. Instead of constituents going to their members for help, the official says they ies would work with local officials on various plans and then either the secretary or the regional minister would take them to cabinet. Vander Zalm says bureau- crats will also be shipped out from Victoria to work on regional projects when need- ed for as long as a couple of years. Although Porteous’s Chil- ean analogy may be a bit the turned-politician Zalm has indeed adopted a presidential style. Vander Zalm makes all major policy announcements. Observers say he depends on his own gut feelings and on non-elected advisers rather than cabinet changes, with the result that what Vander Zalm says often contradicts the line ministers have been told to tout. Deputy ministers report to the premier’s office as well as to their ministers, while Vander Zalm’s office screens and approves all contracts over $500. strong, U.S. president Tues.-Sat., 9:30-5:30 Chine Creek “Drive atittle to Save alot” entrepreneur- Vander for policy 601-18th Street, Castlegar, 365-7232 CASTLEGAR SAVINGS CREDIT UNION PLEASE CONTACT EITHER BRANCH FOR COMPLETE DETAILS: CASTLEGAR SAVINGS CREDIT UNION P.O. Box 39 Slocan Park 226-7212 co OPEN SATURDAY HOMO SAPIENS CANINE GALAPAGOS TORTOISE HOUSEHOLD FURNACE Your natural gas furnace has been sitting quietly in your basement keeping your family warm and cozy for a quarter of a century! When you think about it, that’s pretty good service. But after 25 years it’s time to think about replacement. 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