, May 10, 19 OPINION. NZ The ea ‘stl Gar Sun 7S Sérving the 10,000 people of the Castlegar Area, The Castlegar Sun is every y by Sterling Ltd, at 465 Columbia Ave. Castlegar, B.C. VIN 1G8, The Castlegar Sun is politi cally independent and a member of the Sterling News Service, Canadian C: y B.C, C Assocation, and the B.C. Press Couneil, Established 28, 1990. Mail 10420. PUBLISHER MARILYN STRONG CHRISTINE MOYER PRODUCTION MANAGER TRICIA LAKTIN PRODUCTION ASSISTANT CATHERINE ROSS REP. ACTING EDITOR KAREN KERKHOFF REPORTER JEFF GABERT SPORTS MARGE LALONDE NICOLE BEETSTRA OF JLATIO REP. CARI ROHN FRED JACK CLASSIFIED ADS ADVERTISING REP. Direct Department Phones General Office . 365-5266 Circulation ... ++965-5266 Classified Ads 365-7848 Display Advertisin 365-2278 Newsroom on 365-5579 POR sscceesescoese ‘ oeeeee- 965-7762 editorial comment Apathy throws Shadow over Sunfest It’s funny how a community works. Sometimes things get done, sometimes they don’t. Sometimes the main thoroughfare gets ripped up in the name of revitalization and sometimes the liquor store gets a facelift. Sometimes ballparks can seem the most important thing in the world. And the community goes on and prospers. But these are all things. What about the people? What do they want, desire and need? If you talked to various city cuncillors and the mayer, they would tell you the people want to see new pavement downtown and a remodelled liquor stgre. If you talked to the people, you might hear a desire for happiness, prosperity and there may even be a few who like the odd party. Enter Sunfest, the biggest annual event in Castle- gar that incorporates the idea of community in its very existence. There is something for the whole family there and it is a chance for all the people of Castlegar to celebrate being a member of a thriving community, There aren't many Egyptians here, but there is always a big celebration of the sun god the first week in June. This year was to be the best and brightest Sunfest ever. But for some reason Sunfest has been left out in the cold. Sponsorship is down, numbers of volun- teers are down and city council decided fireworks don’t look as good as new pavement and a ball- field. Not that they can’t afford both, it’s just that why would you ever want to make people happy for just one weekend a year? But the residents of city hall aren’t the only party-poopers. For some strange reason, people have just lost the spirit of Sunfest and with that has gone the spirit of community. It’s almost like people expect Sunfest to rise and shine magically before their very eyes. Unfortunate- ly, Harry Houdini isn’t on the organizing committee. And he isn’t in the fire department either. The firefighters are responsible for the fireworks dis- play every year, which they run indépendently of Sunfest but as part of the festivities. It costs them $8,000 to put it on and they only have $3,000. One sponsor in particular who pledged $3,000 last year only pledged $500. The city pledged nothing. Apparently everyone is more interested in the spirit of pavement, the spirit of clearchtting part of Kinnaird Park and the spirit of brand new awnings on downtown buildings. What an advertisement for the city: “There ain’t much to do here but the streets are really driveable and we've got a damn fine liquor store.” Bringing a community together is not an easy thing to do, but it is special. You can do it by throwing a big event like Sunfest or you can wait for a catastrophe. Either way, things are just things and people are what is important Community is what is impor- tant. Sunfest is important and in a very small way that Mayor Mike O'Connor doesn’t understand, so are fireworks Jeff Gabert ERRORS: The advertiser agrees that the publisher shall not be liable for damages arising out of errors in any advertisement beyond the amount paid for the space actually occupied by that portion of the advertisement in which the error occurred, whether such error is due to the negligence of its servants or otherwise... and there shall be no liability for non-insertion of any advertisement beyond the amount paid for such advertisement. All advertising subject to publisher's approval. Contracts must be completed within one year from contract date. No contingent orders accepted sss Ose H wer a : 8 Airport issue will heat things up If you thought things have been heated between the City of Castle- gar and the Regional District of Central Kootenay so far, think again. Everything just got turned up a notch on Tuesday. What was so special about Tuesday? That's the day the city signed a letter of intent with Transport Cana- da to begin negotiations for the takeover of the Castlegar Airport Now, if sludge can generate as much animosity as it did between the regional district and the city, can you imagine what the airport issue will do? The airport, by the way, which is located in Ootischenia. In the Regional District of Central Kootenay. In the Lower Arrow Columbia. And, most importantly, outside city limits The very thought of the city getting its hands on the airport makes Lower Arrow Columbia director Ken Wyllie apoplectic. Well, not the airport itself Though Mr. .Wyllie certainly wouldn't want to see the federal facility in the city’s hands, it is more the land on which the airport sits that has him so riled. And worried. Worried? Yes, because the city would then be in control of any development that would take place on the airport property. Right in Mr. Wyllie’s back yard, So to speak. It is the airport property that will make the airport viable—or not. The airport presently loses about half a million dollars a year. The city has no intention of soaking up all that red ink. It would be looking at all avenues to make the airport a profitable venture—or at the very least break-even. Transport Canada has already indicated that the various smaller airports that it is getting rid of across the country (including Castlegar) will be brought to a break-even point when it unloads them at the turn of the century. Castlegar Airport has even mapped out a five-year b By 1999, the airport expects to be losing only $97,000 a year. It will do that two ways: by increasing revenue by some $200,000 a year, and by decreasing expenses by some $320,000 a year. Most of those reduced expenses will be in the form of service reductions. In fact, the air- port plan notes “The major issue 4 over the next few a | years will be delivering’ an eo acceptable produtt to the Travel- ling public while coping with the dwindling resources required by the National Airports Policy.” The second biggest issue the airport faces? Guess what? That's right, use of the land for non-avia- tion development. aa The plan states: “A second criti- cal issue will be to obtain the regional district’s cooperation (or at lest non- THE VIEW Opposition) to future ground- side non-avia- to 4 oO: ce development Groundside development is the key to this | airport dcyiabor HERE RON NORMAN me © Fiedithy revehue Balance.” That, in a nutshell, is why the city and regional district will be at loggerheads. The regional district is already steaming over Transport Canada’s decision to allow a mdéd- ular home sales office to go on the airport property (in a prime ldca- tion adjacent to highway 3A). The regional district protested to the federal government and were told that Transport Canada can do what it wants on the land. It is not subject to regional dis- trict bylaws. Whoever takes over the airport, whether it is the city or some other public or private agency, would like the same ground rules. Can you imagine if the city gets control of the airport and decides : fo ,buid something that the region- al district opposes, like a water- slide (for those residents Who recall that debate years ago)? Hot? It will be a nuclear melt- down plan to get it close to that point. ‘Baby, you can drive the car’ We have places to go Errands to do He says, “Let's get going - the list is long Can’t take all day And baby - You can drive.” We'll go for an outing A little day trip He says, “My bud and I - we'll sit back and relax You girls can visit, too And baby - You can drive.” The boys are taking us on the town Looking for some fun He says, “You look real good tonight Let's do it up right And baby - You can drive.” We stop at a restaurant and sit night down The boys say, “How ‘bout a hi- ball girls?” But then they started to frown “Tonight we'd like to celebrate A salute to our girls—our des- ignated drivers For if they weren't around We'd be taxiing up and down It's just as easy to say BARB STADEL AND CaTHy Ross has got to “Baby - you can drive.’” We love you dearly, that’s the truth Friends for- ever, don’t want any others But we have to say If we had our “druthers” This driving bit uit! We don't have a chauffeur's license And your license, it seems to be abandoned SO we'll take you on one last drive We'll even stop for awhile And do something to make you smile. But just remember this verse When we say to your face Baby - we'll drive And you take it at a medium pace This is dedicated to women drivers and all the men they trans- port. We realized one day that Wwe knew a lot of non-driving men and felt they deserved some recognition. Barb Stadel and Cathy Ross are two Castlegar women who do alot of driving a = aera PN mle Wednesday, May 10, 1995 at ettihee a ane tied al ee The Castlegar Sun Letters to the Editor Bill an assault on justice Dear Editor: I have never owned a gun and hope | will never have to, but anyone who thinks that only gunowners need to be concerned about Bill 68, the gun control legislation, is uninformed about this savage assault on principles of justice that have stood for hundr of years. As the bill now stands, lawyers say it will; 1. permit the RCMP to search your home without a warrant, even if you own no guns! 2. oblige you to assist the police, showing them your gun if you do have one and permitting them to compensation—and they don’t have to return it even if it was legally yours! A law that legal experts say will remove a law- abiding citizen's right to demand a warrant, his/her right to refuse to cooperate with the police, may force self-incrii or a jail and allows confiscation of property with no recompense and no obligation for its return even when legal in the first place is nothing less than Gestapo-like dictatorship. I urge everyone to write, phone, fax, buttonhole inspect its storage. Refusing entry allows the police to get a warrant and inspect your premises anyway! 3. permit confiscation of your property without EARTH DAY your MP and the prime minister. Don't bother to talk to “Injustice” Minister Rock—he isn’t listening. Jack Yolland Castlegar Rally celebrates planet Dear Editor: On April 21 the K&etenay Region of the United Nations Association ized a rally cel- ebrating Earth Day. About 40 people gathered adjacent to the CPR Heritage Museum for a silent vigil and expressions of support for a clean and healthy planet. The following keynote address was read by Mila Richards. Earth Day observances focus our attention on the environment in which we live. We can see the condition of our communities, of the forests and fields, of the lakes and rivers. These affect us direct- ly and we respond to those actions which threaten them. We can join together to save our neighbor- hoods from those forces which would degrade and abuse them. Many of the forces which affect our communities come from out- side. They are made by people who do not live here, who do not have to live with the consequences of their decisions. We do have some effect on these decisions through those governnients we democratically elect, at the local, provincial and federal level. Taken holistically, our environ- ment is the planet itself. To whom can we look to protect the planet? There is only one organization which encompasses the world that is the United Nations. Bat- tered and bruised by 50 years of ideological chicanery, it’s still the best we've got. Militarism has squandered the planet's resources and poisoned both the earth and the minds of its people. Through the diploma- cy of the Secretary General, votes in the General Assembly and res- olutions of the Security Council, slow progress is being made towards conflict resolution with- Out recourse to war. Nuclear arms have threatened the very survival of the planet itself. The Nuclear Non-Prolifera- tion Treaty has slowed the spread of these weapons and the current Te-negotiation of that treaty will be the most effective route to their elimination. Some 18 million refugees lan- guish in camps around the world, surviving only by the intervention of the United Nations, the Red Cross and other relief agencies. Many will be born and pass their lives within these camps, citizens of no country, never knowing the beauty of a wider world. Refugees live on the bare margin of survival and are in no position to protect their environment. Only the United Nations High Commission for Refugees will be able to solve this human tragedy. The World Health Organiza- tion of the United Nations has managed the elimination of small pox and expects to eliminate polio in the near future. In con- junction with UNICEF the World Health Organization has been it in the i ization mn _of hundreds of millions-of-chil— dren against the common child- hood diseases. Our planet is only so big and cannot be expected to sustain an ever-increasing population. Only the United Nations can involve itself in this desperately impor- tant but divisive issue. Some of the planet’s resources lie beyond national boundaries, in an international commons. Included here are the ocean's fish, whales, sea-bed minerals, Antarctica, and the like. These resources are being plundered by the greed of a few groups and the United Nations stands as the logi- cal guardian to distribute this common heritage to all hi ind. We do not gather on Earth Day to celebrate any final triumph. We gather to mark another year in-the-continuing-tabour fora bet-—— ter world. George Richards for the Kootenay Region United Nations Association Look for us in your mailbox Dear Editor: Because of difficulties we were unable to foresee, we of the Castlegar Unit of the Canadian Cancer Society have not been able to get in touch personally with most of the people of Castlegar this year. This is most disappointing to use, since our April campaign has gone exceptionally well in Rob- son and in Raspberry. Rather than extending our per- sonal campaign into May we are a rdy Kase j ‘ Roses for Mothers Day ¢ Miniature Roses ¢ Hanging Basket Roses ¢ David Austin English Roses ¢ Hardy Explorer Climbing Roses Own Root Roses (No Bud Union/Graft) making a special mailing to everyone with a Castlegar address so that we can be certain that we have reached everyone. We trust that those who we missed in April will give us the same generous consideration that they have in the past when one of our volunteers has been able to call at their home. Ruby J. Marsh President, Castlegar Unit, Canadian Cancer Society far the Marth Avaliable Friday May 12, Saturday May 13 and Mothers Day only from 10:00 am - 4:00 pm 5680 Hughes Road, Grand Forks Phone 442-8442 - Fax 442-2766 includes: post-secondary students. on graduation + direct educational costs (tuition, books, supplies) Tuesday, May 16 Tuesday, May 23 Thursday, May 25 Tuesday, May 30 Thursday, June 1 Wednesday, June 7 * grants in the first two years of * debt management (loan remission) * allowances include living costs * travel costs + single students can receive up to $235 per educational week (based on financial needs assessment) + Students with dependent children can receive up to $360 per educational week (based on financial needs assessment) L.V. Rogers - Nelson J. Lloyd Crowe - Trail Nakusp Secondary - Nakusp Stanley Humphries - Castlegar J.V. Humphries - Kaslo Grand Forks Secondary - Grand Forks CAN YOU AFFORD TO GO TO COLLEGE? The B.C. Student Assistance program could be your answer to getting there. The program Attend one of the following workshops at the location nearest you. 7-10p.m. 7-10p.m 7-10p.m 7-10 p.m. 7-10p.m 7-10 p.m Eis e Cline review unjustified Dear Editor; Tam writing in response to Gordon Tumer’s review enti- tled “Reliving the Patsy Cline Legend”, Though I was born the year Patsy Cline passed away, T have been a fan of hers for years, and eagerly attended From the turn out and applause at the show, I’m sure I'm not alone. I thought Barbara Dee was very profes- sional, personal and did an excellent job of bringing the legend alive. I feel her outfits were both fantastic and that the first half of the show was spectacular, while the second half merely excellent. : To say “Barbara Dee has a good voice” was an unjusti- fied understatement. Her Tange, strength of voice and likeness to Patsy gave me goosebumps. Mr, Turn and I do agree on one thing. The back up band ‘was | Country Gentlemen for an enjoyable evening. Sandi Griffin, Castlegar Oven OPEN THE GREEK Oy one SUNDAY, MAY 14 at 4:00 pm Enjoy our regular menu plus these Mother's Day specials, RESTAURANT * Greek spinach ple (Spanakoplta) with Greek oven potatoes Greek or Caeser Salad 8 o, steak & deep fried fantail shrimp. baked potato, tossed green salad & gartic bread $1 * Santorini shrimp - shrimp baked with fresh spinach & feta cheese in a marinara sauce. Fully Licensed = "= 365-2311 400 Columbia Ave., Downtown Castlegar great. Thank you Barbara and the Located Playmor Junction Ph: 359-7770 Riverview chevrolet oldsmobile Itd. NOT JUST A PLAIN METRO... ABS, AM/FM stereo cassette, Tach, body side mouldings. ONLY 4 LEFT 11,578 OR LEASE FOR $2400. IKE BRAGA ‘Sales & Lansing Representative CASTLEGAR: 365-2296 TRAIL: 368-9134 NELSON:352-1614 2880 Highway Dr., Tra, B.C. VIR 273 See & Bs Fas Mother's Days ce? eRe ="\ Just For Mom LREEERERE® 1 FREE 8x10 print with every roll processed (20 exp. or more) . 35 mm colour prints 11x14 only 4 o* 16x20 only °4 7 OFFER-EXPIRES JUNE 1795 — *traming not included i The —~ “Picture Place Castleaird Plaza 365-2111 Make Mom's Day Special With Flowers a Fern Wilson and Lisa Postnikoff are busy designing for Mother's Day A special day for her and a time for you to express feelings of love and appreciation. Make her day memorable by sending a lovely bouquet of flowers from Tulips. Mother's Day Sale ¢ Prices in effect MONDAY, MAY 8th - SATURDAY, MAY 13th *° Sleepwear © Jewellry 25% OFF * Coats & Jackets * Selected Sportswear © Dresses * Housecoats ¢ Purses * Vogue & Wonder Bras 25-30% e All fashion fabrics home & quilting fabrics decorator OFF osmetic Bags * Sewing Books * Printed Fleece, Jersey CHE Open Mon-Thurs. 9-5:30 + Fri. 9-9 © Sat. 9-5:30. 1217 - 3rd St., Castlegar whe Westa’= M 365-7782 LW WW WW WW WW WW WW OW WW OW WW WW