Saturday, June 27, 1992 @

TEAMING

Unionized labor
uhas teamed up
with
management at
Westar Mining
Ltd.’s Greenhills
—coal mine in
Elkford.
According to a
report, a joint
employee
ownership
committee has
been struck. The
report says
Westar is under
the protection of
the Companies’
Creditors
Arrangement
The
company has a
debt of over
$400 million.

CROSS-
BORDER
STING

WorkPLACE

Ml Safety and efficiency are
the top priorities when
busing the schoolkids.

Neil Rachynski
NEWS REPORTER
There’s nothing that brings
back memories of childhood
school days more than those
big, yellow Bluebird buses.
Everybody has ridden one,
lost textbooks in one and maybe _
shot spitbalis in one.
But the shuttle service taken
for granted by some kids and
parents requires thorough
organization at Castlegar
School District No. 9.
Assistant maintenance
supervisor Lawrence Popoff
says all kinds of factors affect
the bus systems’ operations,
from the relocations in the
student population to working
with budget restraints.

Popoff says September is a
hectic month.

“We re-evaluate our routes in
September. We go over the

B.C. residents
are making more
shopping trips to
the U.S. than
people from any
other province,
according to the
Canadian
Federation of
Independent
Business. The
group says it
cost retailers in
the province $1.6
billion and
27,000 in lost
jobs for 1991.

CAR

CRASH

A crumbling
North American
auto industry
could face job
losses of
100,000 over the
next five years if
its competitive
crisis continues.
Canadian and
U.S. experts
says since 1978
North American
automakers have
lost 11 per cent
of their share in
the world market,
from 35 per cent
to 24 per cent.

routes and look at the student
count.”

He emphasized the lengths
the board goes through to
ensure proper bus maintenance.

It’s called the Preventative
Maintenance Program. Popoff
compares it to the same routine
aircrafts are responsible for
going through.

“It’s a rigidly controlled
program monitored by the
vehicle inspection branch,”
Popoff said.

“Each bus is inspected twice
a year, a complete inspection,
and we don’t know when (the
inspector) is going to come or
which vehicle he’s going to look
at.”

The days are numbered for
every bus.

“Every 10 or 12 years we
trade them off. They’re either
auctioned off or sold,” Popoff
said.

The school district just
received a $94,000 Transit-style
bus with a capacity for 84
people.

He says they work hard to
run the buses safely.

“We have very few accidents
for all the mileage we put on.”

Popoff says the buses
combine every year to travel a
total of 345,000 kilometres.

As far as dollar values are
considered, assistant secretary
treasurer Bill Babakaiff says

the operating costs of the bus
system for 1990/91 were
$575,000. That figure includes
salaries and benefits ($470,000),
insurance ($20,000), and parts
and fuel ($80,000).

Popoff says he is managing to
operate within budget cutbacks.
But he wishes more money was
being spent to educate other
motorists on the road who speed
past buses whose stop-arm is
out and red lights are flashing.

“We’ve got some of these
drivers that just roar right past.
We've had more close calls than
we like to think about,” Popoff
said.

On Wednesday, the school
board honored its bus drivers by

handing out a number of driver
safety awards.

“It’s a special recognition for
safely riding from September to
June,” Popoff said.

Here are this year’s award
winners :

Leo Plamondon (26 year
badge), Doug Richards (17 year
badge), Stan Jollimore (17 year
badge), Peter Plotnikoff (12 year
badge), Ray Plamondon (20 year
badge), Jay Hawkins (7 year
badge), Brenda Binnie (2 year
badge), Judy Currie (2 year
badge) and Tony Rego (1 year
badge, plus wings).

A cash award is included for
those with more than one year.

News photo by Neil Rachynski

Busdrivers for Castlegar School District No. 9 stand beside their new $94,000 Transit-style schoolbus. Nine of

the drivers were recognized Wednesday for safe and accident-free driving.

Expect more ‘Sin Taxes,’
cross-border shoppers.

Any alcohol or cigarettes you
bring back from the U.S.
border are going to be subject
to the Provincial Sales Tax.

Finance Minister Glen Clark
stated the cross-border levies
“ensure that British
Columbians buying these same
products across the border also
contribute to funding essential
services.” Those services
include hospitals and schools.

So don’t feel hard done by,
Mr. and Mrs. Spokane
Spending-Spree. Every drag
you take and every drink you
| make will help recover the $3
million B.C. loses every year on
its PST to cross-border

Bottom
Line

NeilRACHYNSKI

shopping.
eee
Stop complaining about the
rising cost of garbage disposal
and do something about it.
According to consultants
Stanley Associates, every

Canadian produces about two
kilograms of solid waste each
day. (Granted, it’s a bit less in
more rural areas like ours.)

But compare that to Norway
where residents there each
generate only 0.77 kilograms of
junk.

We're going to have to take
some responsibility in our own
homes to reduce the garbage
we throw out. We're so spoiled,
the province has to legislate a
50 per cent waste reduction
goal for us because we can’t do
it ourselves. Shameful.

ece

Nice lunch this week for the
final general meeting of the
Castlegar Chamber of

Province gets new ‘Sin Tax’ for Mr. and Mrs. Spokane

print space. With that,
chamber manager Renee Reid
said the Federal Business
Development Bank is looking
for individuals 29 years old and
under for their Young
Entrepreneur Awards. One

goes to a B.C. resident who’

has successfully operated their
own business, and the other
awards are for non-Canadians
who have done well in the
wholesale, services, retail, and
manufacturing industries.

Meanwhile, the chamber will
be promoting itself by putting
on an open house August 12
with ‘Chamber Day’.

There will a ribbon cutting
ceremony complete with free
‘hot dogs and refreshments.

Commerce. Serve lasagna, get

ROUNDING UP THE TROOPS |

@ Saturday, June 27, 1992

FastLANE

Win or lose,
it’s in The
_ News.
Jonathan
Green
365-7266

HOLE-IN-

NONE

Despite
numerous
requests from
the U.S. Golf
Association, Tom
Watson refuses
to let go of the
sand wedge he
used to win the
1982 U.S. Open
at Pebble Beach.
The USGA wants
the iron for their
museum, but
Watson says it’s
@ personal item
he wants to keep
around for a
while.

GIVEN
THE BOOT

New York
Yankees relief
pitcher Steve
Howe has been
permanently
suspended from
baseball after
pleading guilty to
a misdemeanor
charge of
attempted
possession of
cocaine.
Commissioner
Fay Vincent
made the
announcement
Wednesday
following Howe’s
seventh drug or
alcohol related
suspension: :

PUTTING
YOUR
BUCKS IN
THE SEAT

Season tickets
for the Ottawa
Senators are
going for the
bargain price of
$4,600 for an
ice-level seat.
Private box seats
for 10 people are
selling for about

$45,000.

LocdSPORT

W@ Record number of
entrants expected for
Annual Sunfest Biathlon

Jonathan Green
SPORTS REPORTER
Kootenay athletes are
gearing up for the fourth
Annual Sunfest Biathlon.
Set for 9 a.m. Sunday at
the Community Complex,
the biathlon will see com-
petitors cover a total of
46.6 kilometres over three

Susan

Campbell said, as of
Thursday morning, 36 en-
tries had been received,
and things looked to be on
line to best last years total
of 63 participants.

“Looking at this, I think
we could expect up to 70
people,” she said.

Campbell said runners
will leave the Complex
and head south on 6th Ay-
enue to 27th Street, turn
toward Columbia Avenue
and eventually end up 5.8-
k later at the Complex.

“Everything starts and
ends here,” she said.

Biathletes descend
on city for Sunfest

They will then get on
their bikes and make a 35-
round-trip up to
Kalesnikoff Lumber in
Tarrys before returning to
the Complex via Selkirk
College for the 5.8-k run
again.

With the string of hot
weather Castlegar has ex-
perienced lately, Campbell
said race organizers are

ing precautionary mea-
sures by having ambu-
lance staff on hand at wa-
ter stations.

“We're quite concerned
about dehydration and
we're taking care of that,”
she said. “We’ve got lots of
cool-off spots.” :

Although the race is
morrow, Campbell said
participants can still take
part.

“They have the oppor-
tunity between 8 a.m. and
9 a.m. tosign up,” she said,
adding that volunteers are
as well welcome as run-
ners.

“We can always use ex-
tra bodies,” she said.

“We'd love to have
them.”

File Photo

Athletes from all over will be in Castlegar for the Sunfest Biathlon tomorrow.
Organizers expect a record number.of entries for the event, now in its fourth year.

Fastballers hunt for healthy payday

NEWS STAFF

Six fastball teams
will come to the Third
Annual PK Memorial
Fastball Tournament
this weekend with one
thing, make that 1000
things, on their minds.

The annual fastball
part of Sunfest, the PK
will see the one visiting
and five local teams vy-
ing for the first place
prize of $1000.

Tournament repre-
sentative Eli Soukeroff
said the six entries is a
little disappointing, es-

File Photo

The Nelson A's will be one of the teams competing in the
PK Memorial Tournament at Sunfest today and tomorrow.

pecially when they
were expecting 12.

He said that “all
kinds of excuses” were

heard as to why teams
expected to show up
backed out, including
the amount of competi-
tion the locals would
offer.

“I think with the lo-
cal league being so
competitive, it discour-
aged some of the teams
from the (Slocan) Val-
ley,” he said.

But excuses aside,
Soukeroff said the fast-
ball this year will be
just as good as the pre-
vious two tourna-
ments,

“I think it will be re-
ally good,” he said.
“Whoever gets hot will
win the tournament.”

And getting hot
means playing well on
both sides of the ball .

“I think the differ-
ence will be the sticks
and the defence.”

One of the teams ex-
pected to challenge
will be the visitors
from Invermere, an all-
native team that has
won the North Ameri-
can Native Champi-
onship and one that
Soukeroff has been be-
fore. uinete

“They’ve got a real
good, solid team.”

Action got underway
this morning, with to-
morrow’s final set for 3
p.m. at Kinnaird Park.

Need. amortgag:

e@)

We'll make it happen.

Kootenay Savi
Where You Belong