tes Fiectinel tations en A Rane A MN Me Me oe men reget Foe Wednesday, January 22, 1992 i” THE FAR SIDE By GARY LARSON cdesk job + Age eis 7 198d Unwwesas Press Symocate ducky, skunks _\ T ‘hate this 5 | H Westar continued from front page re According to Friesen, the sale grants the Castlegar mill some 575,000 metres in saw logs annually. He said an additional 125,000 metres in saw logs will be pur- chased on the open market and processed in Castlegar. Although Moore has been calling on either Westar or Pope and Talbot to open the mill during the during the public hear- ings, Friesen said that is unlikely. “We can’t open the mill,” he said. “You can't open it until you own the cutting licence. “The only one that can open it is Westar and I don’t see that happening,” Friesen continued. “They’re broke.” In a press release, Westar president Larry Bell gave'ne-in- dication when the mill would be opened, but stated that Pope and Talbot would be a strong buyer which would serve Castle- gar interests. The money generated from the sale of the Castlegar mill will go towards paying off some of Westar’s debts. Westar’s mining division is currently in trouble in the East Kootenay, where it owes some $12 million in back taxes to the communities of Fer- nie, Sparwood and Elkford. 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Watch for more great ys C gar News. @ Wednesday, Ji y 22, 1992 #The News SecondFRON CALL THE NEWS @General Inquiries 365-7266 @Ciassifieds & Delivery 365-2212 @News 365-3517 @aAdvertising 365-5210 OUR The News is locat- ed at 197 Columbia Ave. Our office hours are Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed on weekends and Statutory holidays. City receives facelift funds Search for Wi Ed Conroy hands city $3.3 million to help kick off downtown revitalization Scott David Harrison EDITOR Castlegar’s Downtown Revitalization Project received a much-needed shot in the arm Tuesday — a $3.3 million loan from the provincial government. At a hastily-assembled pre- sentation, Rossland-Trail MLA Ed Conroy handed city council the hefty cheque, compliments of the B.C. government. “I only found out about it (Tuesday) morning,” Conroy . said. “It’s good news for the city and good news for the commu- nity.” Conroy said the funding will go a long way towards helping the city realize its lofty goal of complete revitalization within five years. According to the plan, fund- ing will be issued in three phas- es, starting with some $1.27 million in 1992-93. The money will be paid back over a 15-year period at an interest level of six per cent. “You’re talking to someone born and raised here,” Conroy said in an interview, “and though I’m proud to say I’m from Castlegar because of the quality of people we have here, the town itself, in terms of esthetics, it doesn’t have a whole heck of a lot going for it. “Hopefully this is just the beginning of trying to turn that around.” Conroy said the money will rework the face of downtown Castlegar and develop commu- nity pride in the process. “We’re an industry town. We're not another Nelson and I don’t think we could be another Nelson, but this will help us develop an identity and pride in our-community.” lost trucker continues News Staff The search for Dennis Pere- pelkin continues. About 200 people combed the banks of the Columbia River and areas near the Kinnaird bridge Saturday for the missing Nelson trucker, but failed to turn up any clues. Perepelkin, 42, went missing on Jan. 16 while driving his Esso fuel truck to Castlegar. His truck was later found in working condi- WIDE LOAD tion on the east side of the Kin- naird bridge with the keys still in the ignition. a : : News photo by Ed Mills Castlegar residents have seen some heavy equipment moved down Columbia Ave. as the Celgar mill expan- sion. continues. But none of the sights were stranger or larger than this submarine-like object that dwarfed buildings as it passed on its way to the mill Monday : Cpl. Al Brown said Saturday’s search also included two hours of helicopter surveillance. ; “But there was nothing there,” he said. Brown said an RCMP heli- copter will be flown into the area for another aerial search once the unfavorable weather clears. In the meantime, Brown said Tuesday’s snow and continued cold weather “doesn’t help.” “(Snow) wouldn't hinder us that much if we were going to fly the river, but inland it does,” he said. “If you’re looking at the river as the source, the colder weather is going to hinder it alright. “But, I don’t know, we don’t have an awful lot to go.on,” he added. “We don’t have any evidence he’s in the river, yet that’s what we really have to concentrate part of it on.” Brown said foul play has not been ruled out but other RCMP de- tatchments have been notified to be on the lookout in the event Perepelkin did just leave the area. Police are asking for anyone with information about Pere- pelkin’s disappearance to contact the Castlegar detachment imme- diately. Liberals seek relief for ailing Cominco Scott David Harrison EDITOR B.C. Liberals are calling upon govern- ments to give Cominco a bre Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources Critic Bob Chisholm says governments have to give now for jobs in the future. Chisholm made the comments following Thursday’s announcement that 500 jobs would be lost forever at the giant. Trail lead and zinc smelter. “We have to keep people employed, that’s the bottom line,” Chisholm said from his’ constituency office in Chilliwack. “Things are getting a lot tighter‘in this province — we just don’t have the economic umbrella that we once had.” Chisholm said he was shocked by the news that Cominco was letting so many workers go. But, pointing to the $100 mil- lion the company reported it lost in the last two years, Chisholm said something had to give. The first-time MLA said provincial, regional and municipal governments should have seen the job losses coming and offered a helping hand. He said Cominco’s request for breaks in its water rental fees should have been considered. “I’m not saying that we give them big breaks, but each situation should be exam- ined,” he said. “The profit margins of busi- ness and industries have to be looked at. To apply a blanket tax shouldn’t always be the case.” Cominco paid some $9.1 million in water rental fees to the three levels of govern- ment last year. That price will increase to $10.5 million this year. ee Chisholm said had Cominco received substantial breaks in rental fees, jobs may haye been saved. “I’m not holding the NDP government responsible for this, I’m blaming the’previ- ous (Social Credit) government because they set the levels,” Chisholm said. “These are quite heavy bills for every business, especially for ones on the border line.” Chisholm said governments. must resist the temptation to shift tax burdens onto industries. * “Let’s make sure our industries are secure. We have to help places like Trail and Castlegar diversify,” he said. “The last thing we want is a province with the (Fraser Valley) and a capital city and that’s it.”