LOCAL 104 4 LAT LVE TBRARY LAMENT BUILDINGS FEATUH. Erriny yeien VEU 1x4 LEG! They ran...cycled...canoed and Stormed the Wall! Selkirk other huge success/9A The WEDNESDAY April 7, 1993 Gardeners complain Hungry ak feel at home in Thrums residents’ yards. to Wildlife officiais/3A Castlegar Primary School students put pencils to paper rov xclt Castlegar Sun Vol. 3- No. 1 “The weekly newspaper with a daily commitment’ MIXED Weather 3A 75 Cents + G.S.T. KAREN KERKHOFF _ Sun staff A $891,564 budget sh q i ication fromthe provincial government has left School District No. 9 administrators scrambling to stretch budget dollars. S.D. No, 9 Treasurer John Dascher, verified that in. fact the district had a $891,564 shortfall. However, Dascher said that amount has been whittled down to $451,124 through a variety of reductions. “We've had areas we've cut from. We've cut the equipment budget by $100,00 and supplies by $53,270." In order to shorten the gap, Dascher said other areas will also have to be cut from, and was uncertain if layoffs would occur. “Who knows what is going to happen, Other areas will be looked at. We heed to fine tune the budget.” In response to the frightening and drastic shortfall, Dascher said S.D. No. 9 trustees have prop d in their ind y and |, caused by funding and School District No. 9 trustees scrambling to stretch dollars shortfall, but assured that staff reduction would be the last initiative, and would only occur after all other possibilities were exhausted. “Tt may be based on how many are retiring, or going on leave. If we can manage, we would like to keep those people who want to work working. The board's attitude is we don’t like to cut personnel. We would rather do almost anything else..If we can’t do it with attrition we would have to look at it again.” Tumer said that when board mémbers received a notice from the provincial government that there would be a three Per cent increase, board members understood that the increase would be three per cent per district. But school district administrators have since found out that the three per cent increase was forthe whole province “We're short because the pfovincial government said three per cent. Unfortunately, the way they worded it the whole Province gets three per cent.” Turner said that although the situation is bad, things could be worse. “Almost all the districts in the area are as bad off Or.worse ; off than we are. Some districts are showing a $1,000,000 shortfall.” The $891,564 budget shortfall amounts not to a three per cent a travel. Although Dascher wouldn't be specific on the Proposed reduc- tion of trustee’s indemnity he did say that currently the chairman receives $8,090 annually while the vice chairperson receives $6,760 and the trustees receive $5,410. Gordon Turner, chairperson for S.D. No. 9, also commented on the as was exp by board b but to a minus 1.3 to minus 1.6 per cent decrease in budgeting. Trustees will be holding a meeting April 14 to discuss ways in which to stretch dollars. The results of this meeting will be heard at the monthly board meeting, April 19. SHARLENE IMHOFF Sun Editor Glance Falling to yietd A two-vehicle accident on Waldie and Broadwater Road, 4. March 28,.has resulted in a Robson woman being charged with failing to yield. The acci dent occurred when a 1987 Ford, driven by Samantha Hibert of Robson, collided with a 1980 Kenworth dump truck which was driven by George Markin of Robson Hiebert was transferred to Castlegar and District Hospital where she was treated for minor injuries. Her one-year- old daughter was uninjured Road resurfacing and mainte- nance top the priority list as pro- jects which should be completed “as quickly as possible by the city, according to those Castlegar resi- dents who participated in the Strategic Financial Plan work- shops, the second of which was held Monday night at the Castle- gar Complex The first workshop, held in February, brought out more than 100 residents who were asked to choose capital projects which they felt were necessary over the next five yea at this time that Castlegar resi- dents wish to see a cautious approach to financial planning, with all the basics being covered before new services and projects are considered. This ‘low-risk’ attitude by residents also made it clear to city council that it should keep keeping borrowing to a minimum. Monday night, resi- dents were again asked to clarify what they felt were the most essential capital projects “We've listed what we felt were important projects, based on the information that was gathered in the first meeting. Now we're asking residents to tell us whether they agree with the pri- Entertainment orities, and if not, how would they change them,” said Lori Messer, a facilitator with the Vic- toria-based Semmens aid Adams, which has been hired the city to develop a Strate gic Financial Plan Once again, residents formed small informal groups to discuss projects. After a lengthy discus- sion, each table listed its priori- ties in order. If a participant did not agree with a listed priority, they could change its place, pro- viding that they also suggest alternative financing for it Fix our roads! Castlegar residents list priorities “It's a good exercise in that it empowers people to make changes. But at the same time they have to be responsible for any changes they make—in a sway they feel thé dilemmas that an elected official.would when planning a budget,” said Messer One major difference between the first and second meeting was the number of people who attend. ed—since-only 45 people attend ed Monday's meeting; including city councillors, city staff, their Piso) A csr la Aaa ee See PLAN 5A Moe Sihota opening new BC Hydro office SHARLENE IMHOFF _ Sun Editor BC Hydro's new Columbia- Kootenay Program office, located in the old Credit Union building in Castlegar, will be officially opened by Moe Sihota, April 13 Sihota, who is the minister in charge of BC Hydro will be accompanied by BC Hydro CEO Marc Eliesen and Vice President of Corporate and Aboriginal Affairs Thom Thompson "There's still a lot of work to be -In the swim of things to May 2. See page 11A for more information. done on the building, and we won't have the office furnished yet, ‘but we're ready to let the public know we are here for them," said Al Giessler, who will be managing the new office. BC Hydro's Castlegar Office is located at 601-18th Street, across from the Castleaird Plaza The ribbon cutting ceremony, which will begin at 11:30 am., will also include an opportunity for informal discussion between the BC Hydro officials and the pubtic Coffee and donuts will be served. Tories hope support for Campbell will Storm. the Wall- ] 4 It was a total team effort to climb over the 3.6 m (12 foot) wall in last week's Selkirk College Storm the Wall com petition. The wall was the last, and for some the most dif- ficult, challenge in the race. Twenty teams and four solo (Ironman) competitors took part in the competition. See Page 9A for a photo feature. SUN STAFF PHOTO / John Van Putten spill into West Kootenay Six of the 11 Castlegar competitors who will be taking part in the B.C. Masters Provin- cial Championships; Jodi Young, Marg Van Yzerloo, Betty Brussel, Bill Dekierk, Gerry Brussel, and Bill Van Yzerloo, take a break from their busy training schedule. The ath letes will be*traveling to North Vancouver for the competition, which will be held April 30 SHARLENE IMHOFF Sun Editor Federal Cabinet Minister Tom Siddon is hoping that support for Kim Campbell as the candidate who could win the Tories another ferm in office will spill into the Kootenay West-Revelstoke ridiig Native Affairs Minister Tom Siddon, along with Forests Minister Frank Oberle and MPs Stan Wilbee, Ross Belsh- er, Dave Worthy and Ross Belsher visited Castlegar this weekend for its Annual Gener- al Meeting of the Kootenay West-Revelstoke PC Associa- KAREN KERKHOFF Sun staff tion followed by a round of policy sessions and meetings with local municipality offi- cials as well as the public Dubbed “Media Darling” and “Canada’s Madonna,” Siddon said he is hopeful that Campbell's cur. rent wave of support will roll through the Kootenays, thereby making it worthwhile to run a can. didate in this riding during the next election. It might take more than Kim Campbell's current popularity to get voters in this area however, since less than 15 people turned out for a public luncheon to hear the six federal bureaucrats speak true, doesn’t it? Attendance was so poor in fact that a scheduled policy meeting was scrapped. Instead, an informal question and answer session was allowed, which resulted in a vari ety of different questions—from - foreign aid, to the deficit, to the GST to the Canada Elections Act Siddon, who is chairing Camp bell's National Campaign Strate gy, said there are two potential candidates in the area, though he would not comment on names “T think the chances af running a candidate in this riding are very good. Things will look very good for B.C. if Campbell wins the leadership.” Castlegar residents should be wary of possible scam Well it is, and Joanne Minnich, who received on: tute of Lottery Research announces SUN STAFF PHOTO / John Van Pure 3 will be worth over $1,000,000. Sound Hold onto your wallets and hold onto your credit cards, another scam has reared its head in Castlegar At first glance the latest scam looks authentic. A Professional looking post card from The U.S. Insti you') have “been granted access to participate in the Nationwide Empirical Lottery Experiment” which of the postcards in And it’s a good learned is that the that you (yes See WARY scam was package called the Better Business Bureau the mail said that even though the d neatly she wasn't fooled—sh thing she did, because what she company is in fact a bogu pany whose sole purpose is to fleece you ‘The Better Business Bureau said to stay too good to be