CASTLEGAR NEWS, March 27,3983 | “ KOOTENAY SAVING S CREDIT UNION * History made in 1982 | The newsletter of Koot- enay Savings Credit Union is ‘called "Progress!" and the credit union's activity indi- cates the title is apt, A historical landmark was achieved at the end of August, 1982 when Kootenay Savings Credit .Union con- firmed assets as having sur- passed the $100 million mark to $101,861,800, Kootenay Savings was formed on Jan. 1, 1969 by the amalgamation of three thriv- ing credit unions at Trail, Fruitvale and Castlegar. Combined ‘assets on amalga- mation were just under $14 million. The most dramatic growth of the organization has: oc- curred since 1977. Current assets are double that of five years ago. Today, each of eight branch offices in seven Koot- enay- District communities (Trail; Fruitvale, Castlegar, Salmo, South Slocan, Nakusp and New Denver) has grown to a full-service centre with modern facilities and prod- ucts that are innovative and competitive. - In recent years, full in- surance services have been added through Kootenay Sa- vings Insurance Services Ltd., a wholly-owned sub- sidiary of the credit union, with operations at Trail and Castlegar. In celebration of having reached the $100 million plateau, the board of direc- tors authorized a $20,437 contribution to the’ CAT (Computerized Axial Tomo- graphy) Sean Fund of' the Regional Hospital located in Trail. The. donation is equi- valent to $1 per member on the date Kootenay Savings achieved $100 million in as-. sets — Aug. 31, 1982. This cheque was the larg- est single contribution to the fund to date, and the first es JOSEPH BIAGIONI «+ $20,437 donation , ten Kruysse, Economic De- velopment Officer for the Regional : District of. Koot- enay Boundary. Committee members had observed that most students enter the labor force ill- equipped to function effec- tively, due to a lack of awareness of how the econ- omic system works. With the co-operation of © the principal of J. Lloyd Crowe Secondary School in Trail, ‘the school's career counsellor and commerce teacher, four full-day sem- inars were organized, cover- The third session covered the importance of accounting, basic accounting principles, financial statements and in- vestment: risk analysis. It was held in the board room of a local accounting firm, The final session covered a variety of aspects of com- mercial law, such as business advisors, agreements, leasos, seminar students were in- vited, This is an experimental project which has created a great interest among stu- dents at the Trail senfor sec- ondary: school. suchas Don Tuline are giving [ae “that little extra effort” to provide a worthwhile educa- tional experience for stu- dents din the bus- credit, 5, . and receivership. - This. ses- sion took place in the board room of a legel firm. . At the conclusion. of the fourth seminar, iness world. Supporting Don Tuline, in his involvement with this project, are other members of the staff at of attendance were present-. ed by Don Tuline and Marten Kruysse at a regular meeting of the Rotary Club, to: which Kootenay Savings, including Doug Stanley and.Joe Kob- luk as of the Trail AWARENESS... Rotarians (from left Rotary Club for 1982-83. left) ten Kruysse,. chartered accountant Leo Soligo’ and Money Ma ing such topics as the role Fim In celebration of having reached the $100 million plateau, the board of directors authorized a -$20,437 contribution to, the. CAT Scan Fund at Trail Regional Hospital” and importance of business in Canada, basic marketing, the § fundamentals of accounting and finance, and highlights of commercial law. A brochure promoting the opportunity to learn man- skills was distrib from a entity. The CAT Scan Fund, in its brief existence, has the ac- ted to senior secondary stu- dents. The organizers esti- mated 16 stud would en- tive support of “At the End of August, 1982 Kootenay Savings’ confirmed assets has surpassed the $100 million mark to $101,361,800" and citizens in the district. The Kootenay Savings con- tribution raised the fund to- tal to $140,000 of the quarter million goal. ~ Computerized Axial Tom- ography is a modern medical diagnostic miracle and rep- resents the most i roll, but over 80 signed up. Due to space limitations, the number was reduced to 25, The first seminar took place Oct. 8, 1982 in the board room of Kootenay Sa- vings Credit Union — an ap- propriate environment for the first session. Don Tuline: gave an overview of the Can- adian economy and a des- cription of the problems that each society must resolve. He described the “mixed economy” which is typical of our country, stressing the role of business in such an economy. Using a variety of advance in diagnostic med- icine since the discovery of * the X-ray. At the present time, can- didates for this diagnostic service must travel to met- ropolitan centres at jgreat expense for self and family. The fund was established to “The credit union ex- tends its community involvement to ‘the education of high school students” simple statistics he showed he i support the ofa CAT scanner at the Trail hospital whick provides. re- gional services to all com- munities in the Kootenay ed. District. The president of Kootenay Savings, Joseph Biagioni of Trail in presenting the $20,487\ cheque, remarked that it was fitting for Koot- enay Savings to contribute, “because Kootenay Savings is also a regional function,” since its membership i spread through the same geographical area as that also served by the regional hos- pital. The credit union extends its community involvement to the education of high- school students. Members of the credit union's admin- istrative staff participated with the Trail Rotary Club in & program designed to teach the of busi in providing and creating jobs, and wealth. The role of the banking system was explain- By noon of the first day, the students were introduced to the Canadian economy and how it functions, the impor- tance of business, the role of the banking system and the SCU'S' Don Tuline with the 25 students In the high school business awareness course.’ .- The daily interest CHEQUABLE SAVINGS account importance .of preparing a business plan. : Over a business lunch, - provided by Kootenay Sa- vings, various groups were formed to plan (theoretically) a business. Business plans were prepared on paper and ultimately delivered verbally to Tuline and Kruysse who acted as “bankers.” - With only several hours of instruction, the students > thet hasit alll! - :@ NoMinimum Balance Required — ‘Every dollar up to $1,000 earns 4% * per annum. ‘EVERY DOLLAR OVER $1,000 EARNS 7%* PER ANNUM. e No Need to Transfer Funds for Short Term Higher Yields © Total Chequing Convenience: — Statements.mailed monthly = >. — Free cancelled cheque storage ‘ — No charge for withdrawals or transfers — Personalized duplicate cheques free to K-60 members and Juniors ¢ Interest Calculated Daily and Paid Monthly _ © Line-of-Credit Available for Over-Draft Protection _-® BUSINESS ACCOUNTS ARE WELCOME *Rates subjecttochange - without notice. . came up with pretty impres- _ sive presentationg, Each ion was rated for senior "y d some basic business skills. The project was sponsored by the Career Information Committee of the Vocational Service Directorate of the Rotary Club. The principal people involved were Don Tuline, then general manager of Kootenay Savings, as Dir- ector for Vocational Service in the Trail Rotary Club, and the chauman of the Career Information Committee, Mar- viability of the proposed bus- iness and the technical as- pects of the business plan, The “bankers” decided which requests for finance would be approved. The second seminar took place in the board room of the regional district where the same 25 students learned about marketing, how to an- alyze a business, and how to make sales presentations. PE Kootenay Savings MAXIMIZER... FOR YOU. Credit Union ONE MORE WAY WE'RE WORKIN TRAIL FRUITVALE CASTLEGAR SALMO G HARDER SOUTH SLOCAN NAKUSP NEW DENVER. WANETA PLAZA / was being followin: ay Power's Mm. ewsletter Hi-Lines, printed ‘onthe Y wy in 1982. ‘ ‘new company, West: Kootenay Power. an ‘Company, Limited; The other was the: arrival in‘ the Kootenays: of ‘a’ Scottish baronet, Sir Charles Henr Augustus Fredérick. Lockhard Ross, Sir Charles, who, later invented the Ross by Canadian troops in the first .World War, ' “hydroele ial of the Kootenay River, and named Bonnington Falls ‘and Corra Linn after. sites on the River. “Clyde in Scotland. How Ross came to meet up with Oliver Durant, West Kootenay Power's first president, and who decided the Kootenay River held the answer to Ross- _land’s power needs is not clear, but Ross was soon named . to take over as-president and an incredible engineering project was under way. ‘ ~ UNIQUE PROJECT : ee By today’s standards, there was nothing’ incredible : about transmitting high voltage power over $2 miles of mountainous wilderness, but in 1897 it had never before been attempted. Horace F. Evans, writing in the Mining Record of 1899, said the project “was contended by a considerable number of very intelligent persons as belonging to the class of schemes that we hear about but never:see . . .” Evans pointed out that Niagara Falls had been “captured and utilized,” but the Bontitigton scheme j ple-not-j identified P by p with electrical ventures. That little detail: was taken care of ly the new company, which engaged the Edison Electric Company (later' Canadian General Electric) to oversee the construction of a power house at Bonnington and a 20,000-volt transmission line to Rossland. The Edison company sent a young engineer named Lorne Argyle Campbell as supervisor. : ; Campbell was given complete control by Sir Charles on January 10, 1898. In April, Campbell left his employer to become general manager for West Kootenay Power. He was torun the company with an iron hand for the next 49 years, ¢ : . . From;start to finish, the Bonnington-Rossland_proj- ect took jst one year and a day, and on July 15, 1989, Campbell reported to Charles Hosmer in Montreal that 500 lights were shining in Rossland. He also reported on the signing of a contract between West Kootenay and the Canadian Smelting Works, a little smelter on: the Columbia River below Rossland, to supply power for a capital cost of $6,000. That was just a small detail for-a power company that was capitalized at’$1,000,000. SMELTER GROWS In 1902, the smelter at Trail brought in inventor Dr. Anson G. Betts of ‘Troy, .N.Y. to install his. new electrolytic lead process, and all of a sudden the Canadian Smelting Works became West Kootenay Power's biggest industrial customer. And 14 years after that, in 1916, the smelter (by then The Ci i Mining and ii Company of Canada Limited)-had acquired a controlling interest in the utility company. = But we are getting ahead of ourselves, because the first years of the 20th century were very busy indeed for WKP&L. Everyone wanted electricity, and the Bonning- ton plant was hard-pressed to keep up with the demand. Campbell ordered construction of a second power plant, this time at the Upper Bonnington Falls. Built between 1905 and 1907, No. 2 plant set another record, in that it was the largest single piece of concrete construction in B.C. up to that time. oe While No. 2 was being built, the City of Nelson had. obtained its own water rights on the Kootenay River, and was going ahead with a powerhouse, also on the. Upper’ Bonnington Falls. There’ was practically a war between the two until it was finally settled'in thé courts, and: the story’ goes that’ Campbell even ‘staked minoral claims. along the'riverbank on the Nelson side to try to prevent the city from gaining access to its plant. It didn't work, - but the issue'of water rights has . Kootenay River was not yet fully d lop: EARLY POWER LINES..’.. Canadian Pacific Railway “train: passes the half-complated power: house at acquired all common stock from West Kootenay and the CPR. porated. oF ight Company . extended ‘its ‘lines. to’ the:-Washington - town’ and- smelter.’ Although ‘the smelter did not ‘survive, the distribution system was not sold back to the. Americans until’ 1942, if “ . “= "LOOKING WEST : After the war, West Kootenay turned its attention to the’ West.’ The capital stock of ‘the company was, increased to. $5.5 million, and work started onan ion to Copper Mountain in the Similk P two months later because it couldn't smelt copper at a profit.” E Down but: not out, Campbell looked around to see _who else could -use power from the expensive Copper “Mountain project, and found the answer in the Okanagan Ss Valley. The farms and: orch: at Pe: “WKPL became international in 1918, when it incor- orth igh Lower Bonnington. Photo'was taken-in 1898, Soon ” after, the CPR wos writing angry leiters to West Valley. . : Power was delivered to. Allenby and Copper Mountain in October, 1920,’ but the. Canada Copper. C ; 4.4 i land, Oliver and as far noth as. Kelowna were crying out : ue for a more reliable, source of electricity than they had. By 1921, crews were busy on new extensions, - Shortly thereafter, the Canada Copper shareholders came back to West Kootenay: Power, to ‘arrange for: power supplies to their plant at Princeton; they also had: to negotiate a settlement of their $240,000 outstanding account with the utility. With so many new customers, the combined output of the Bonnington plants quickly became inadequate, and plans were laid for a third plant at South Slocan: But a review of costs and urgency. suggested to the directors that it would be better to rebuild the original power house at Lower Bonnington. This option was agreed to, and between 1923 and 1925, a completely new power . house with two 20,000 h.p, generating units was built; a third unit of the same size was added in 1926. But even before the third unit went on line, the smelter’s growing appetite made it apparent that the. South Slocan oper- ation would be needed a8 well, and quickly, A $4.2 million project was given the green light, and by December, 1928, two generators were in’ operation. At. the’ same ‘time, during: 1928, the company launched new studies on developing power on the Pend Oreille River south of Trail. Two sites were picked out, and water rights obtained in 1980. . ee ;, LAKESTORAGE Lorne Campbell was aware, however, that the : : = FAASSIVE UNDERTAKING . . . By today’s standards, there was nothing i about lishing power lines over miles of mountainous wilderness. DIFFICULT TRANSPORTATION . . . Horses were used to p pplies' on the land line in 1897-98. The pack train was and he -recommended development of a site at Corra Linn Falls, picked 38 years earlier by Sir Charles Ross. Corra Linn ‘would offer 45,000: h.p. at high~ water, but more contentious one. to this day... ’ eae 5 Demand for power was stretching far. beyond the Rossland-Trail area, and far beyond. the 50-mile radius allowed by West Kootenay’s: original charter, The’ company obtained permission to extend its nissi to be a” i > df it ‘could incorpoate. a storage dam to govern Kootenay Lake levels; its’ potential was much ”_ greater. ; With two units in operation at Corra Linn in March, 1932, the company anxiously awaited a hearing before the lines, now up to 60,000 volts, into the Boundary country, .: to serve the growing mines and smelters at Grand Forks, . Phoenix and Greenwood. In the process, the company acquired the Cascade Water, Power and Light Company, and its small plant on the Kettle River. TOUGH TIMES A combination of low metal prices and prolonged labor disputes made the next few years difficult for West Kootenay Power and its industrial customers, and when war broke out in 1914, the copper market was hit hard and the Boundary mines closed. But the CM&S at Trail was required to produce. all the zinc it could for the war effort. The smelter took all the surplus power, and Campbell ordered expansion at No. 2. It was to safeguard its supply of secure power that the smelting company Joint nis on storage rights, After some delay, hearings were held’ in, Nelson’ in August, 1938, at which objections were ra(sed.by the U.S. Corps of Engineers and the State of Idaho. Idaho wanted the company to widen the river at Grohman Narrows to ease flood stage problems. It was not ‘until 1988 that West Kootenay Power was granted the right to raise Kootenay Lake by 21: feet, and that was increased to six feet after the Grohman Narrows project, the removal of 250,000 yards of rock and gravel, was completed. ile, the pany was granted ions on undeveloped power sites at Brilliant, on the Pend Oreille, and also on the Adams River, a tributary of the Thompson, What was being developed at this time was a dam and power house on the Goat River near Creston. This became operative in 1934. . In spite of the dusty, dry years on the Prairies during the mid-1980s, there was plentiful water on the Kootenay River, and Campbell, assured that this would continue, suggested deferring the $5 million Brilliant project for the time being; but at the same time, in 1936, he was given authority to build a railway line from the Great Northern tracks at Waneta to a proposed dam site on the Pend d'Oreille. DISASTER STRIKES Old-timers remember 1936 not for the railway line, nor for the new transmission lines from South Slocan to Tadanac to supply the expanding fertilizer operations at Warfield. What they remember best was West Kootenay Power's biggest disaster — the collapse of 17 miles of transmission line to the west and north of Oliver. In one of the coldest winters recorded then and since, almost 100 employees worked under incredible hardship to repair the line. Service was restored during the repairs through a connection with the West Canadian Hydro plant at Vernon, With the outbreak of the Second World War, the Dominion Government asked CM&S (which was known informally as Cominco by this time) to build the Brilliant CASTLEGAR NEWS, March 27,1983 lements Kootenay management telling them to get their power poles and lines off the railway right-of-way. : West Kootenay Power Photo pan Mel Ye : Little roofs to keep the snow off insulaters were a feature of the original Bonnington-Rossland line. : : Wert Kootenay Power Photo 4 2 Photographed crossing one of the creeks along the way. West Kootenay Power Photo ‘ Power project. Although it was the final chapter of Lorne Campbell's dream’ to harness the Kootenay River between the lake and the Columbia, the project was turned over to Cominco's chief engineer, Ed Stiles. The utility handed over its designs and engineering data, and key West Kootenay employees including chief engineer W.J. Tindale and construction engineer G.F. Chapman, were transferred to Cominco's Kootenay Engineering Company. With the wartime manpower shortage already cutting deeply into the local workforce, the Brilliant management team turned to the Doukhobor community for help. Exempted from military service, the Doukhobors came from their farms and villages, and comprised 60 per cent of the construction force. Without them, Stiles said, the project would have bogged down. As it was, two of the four eventual generating units were operating by the summer of 1944, The others would be added in 1949 and 1968, but Campbell, now in failing health after almost half a century of dedicated service, would not see the additions, He died in 1947.