OPINION WY The Gasth ‘Gar Sun ATS PUBLISHER JON JARRETT SHARLENE IMHOFF ‘DITOR DENISE CIRCULATION MANAGER JiM ZEEBEN REPORTER BRENDAN HALPER REPORTER Tell me what season this is Depending upon where you were on February 2 Gregory and Gertrude Groundhog either stuck their heads out their front door, wrinkled their noes dis dainfully, and went back to bed; or ventured tentatively outdoors into an uncertain environment. At my house, Gregory and Gertrude Groundhog did both! That certainly depicts our weath- er. It just can't make up its mind. Bach morning I head off for my daily walk with umbrella forthe rain, snow boots a for the inevitable, goggles for the fog and my inhaler for the smoke. Melb A v a collection of whiners and complainers with few constructive suggestions. Is this what we Canadians have become, a nation of ditherers? All up and down Columbia Avenue I over- hear people muttering and complaining. But when a mandated group dares to act, the feeding frenzy fal on the actors. In A li Seasons Elma Maund eg ever did! Do you mean to tell me that no one Saw anything on a recent frosty January morning, when i very tragic hi on or near our local bridge? It is said that it is the role of children to learn. Perhaps it is time that seniors were more active par- ticipants in the teaching process. Our local seniors aren't dithering. With a Steering Committee in Place working for a Seniors Centre, the seniors are they call this syndrome “lopping tall poppies”. I is known as the Capital that can have four seasons in one day. Vancouver has at least two seasons every day. Castlegar, this season, is vying for both titles All across Canada, no one seems to be able to make up their collective minds. Decisive action has become inconch as I flip TV channels, I note that the Constitutional Debate process shows that we Canadians cannot decide who we are, what we want or where we are going. We've been given the Y to select, and we are stymied by the editorial comment Up the river without a ferry. . . or a bridge Transportation and Highways Minister Art Char- bonneau has dealt out his political deck of cards and judging by the look on everyone's face, there isn’t one person who is happy with the hand they have been given. Well, is anyone surprised? I think so. When Charbonneau agreed to visit this area to discuss the possibilities of a link between Castle- gar and Robson, he did so realizing, as we all did, the profound economic benefits such a link would have in this area. There was so very much at stake, and maybe we thought the Minister, in all his wisdom, would believe the linking endeavor to be a make or break situation That might be a slight exaggeration, but it isn’t far off. True, Charbonneau’s answer that “No” the ferry would not be retumed, and “No” the bridge would not be built this year is nothing short of a slap in the face. In Castlegar, the much planned for downtown proliferation of choices. Our Provincial Govern ment cannot decide whether or not to return our Ferry an/or give up a new bridge, or whether or not to transfer an intact or truncated Tree Farm License Our Government made some decisions, and just look at the grief that brought them! We don’t elect es to study s forever. We elect them to act on our behalf. A local editor cajoles the Populace to form an action committee and we gain Leftovers | | Slings & Arrows Nigel Hannaford A SoCred friend of mine remarked wryly the other day that he was nol surprised to see that tv reporter Andy Orr had deserted the CBC and gone to work for Mike Harcoun as Press Secretary It's actually not so surprising as political flackery has long been diversion for journalists. There does come a point at which these people whose words you huthtully repon seem such incredible idiots that you Just know you could do better. It's sont of like being seventeen again and trying to understand your father. thought Canadians, gr ly in the gov- emmental processes, and a considerate people by nature, were also more generous. Alas! There are individuals in this area who really do care about the community in which they live. Some of them were in evidence at recent discussions, all well advertised, to provide input into economic and direction decisions. So where were the ghtful, c , caring Ci ians? I overheard someone say “They sure weren't at the Rebels’ games"! There was a small turnout at a recent meeting at our Recreation Complex to assure our Provincial Government that we wee concerned about our vital local forest industries. Where were all the others who depend on these industries for their livelihood? Are you Teally con- tent to let others decide you don't deserve to uti- lize our natural renewable resources? I live, quite happily, in a community where my whole street knows more about me than my moth- putting a effort into raising money for all those items that are forgotten, or not included, when budgets for public buildings are drawn up Like furniture and appliances and creature com- forts. Our seniors know we will have a Seniors ing about our ity, about how we treat people and how we treat eac! other. I don’t suppose we can do a thing about the weather. Tell me, just what season is this? Elma Maund is a communications consultant, @ facilitator, administrator and a writer. Elma has travelled throughout North America, Asia and the South Pacific and has coordinated numerous projects. She is presently coordinator of the local Seniors Action Committee * THE TORIES ARE RUNNING THE COUNTRY, ALRIGHT— INTO THE GROUND! * Wednesday, February 26, 1992 The Castlegar Sun Page 7A Letters to the Editor Charban - no ferr Mr. Charbano: In utter frustration I pen this letter to you. I was present at the Town Hall meeting in Robson, on Feb. 24 When will Dear Editor: We, the members of the Castle- view Local of the Hospital Employees Union, are writing this letter to bring the ‘empty bed’ sit- uation at Castleview Care Center to the of the i I was convinced by you of the financial bind the province is in, but I'm sure that many people before me were convinced by other ministries before you that, the beds and we still have 25 empty beds, with a waiting list of over 40 peo- ple. Many of these people are being taken care of at home, often with the help of Home Sup- port, or sent to facilities outside Castleview is an intermediate level, long term care facility. We moved to our new building in Castlegar in April 1991, after being at Raspberry Lodge for many years. We were told at that time that the empty beds in the “green wing’ would probably be filled after the Castlegar Hospital exten- sion, Mountainview, was opened. Six months have now passed, Health Dear Editor: I'm writing this letter about two things: The first is about the bus that the Lions Club is raising money for. I would like to know if this bus is going to be for the people of Rosewood Manor, Roto Villa, Castleview Care Centre and the people who are staying in their own homes who need care or is this bus just for the hospital and Mountainview Care Centre? The second is about the article about Castleview Care Centre and the possibility of losing it. I of the ry. We would like some answers, for our union members, for fami- lies of the people on the waiting list, and for the community — WHEN CAN WE EXPECT OUR EMPTY BEDS TO BE FILLED? Sincerely, H.E.U. members of Castleview Care Center would like to know why Mr. Dodds, Continuing Care Admin- istrator, has not applied to the Ministry of Health to have the 25 empty beds opened, and why he feels 72 beds are enough and yet our people are being sent away from Castlegar and why they are talking of building a new facility in Trail at the taxpayer's expense. I'm also disappointed with the City of Castlegar, as they were asked to see what they could do to assist with getting these beds opened and they replied it was not their concer because it was a In memory Nellie Kanigan On Wednesday, February 19, 1992. Nellie Kanigan of Ootis- chenia passed away at the age of 83 years , Funeral sérvice was held at the Brilliant Cultural Centre on Fri- day and Saturday with burial in ber of the USCC and enjoyed gardening and cooking. Mrs, Kanigan is survived by “Tour sons; Mike, Walter, John and Phillip alf of Odtischehia. ‘Oné daughter, Olga Johnson of Kelowna, 12 grandchildren and “things aren’! as you see them”. I understand with politics the non-committal answers and put- the-blame-elsewhere attitudes that are necessary for political be filled? Jean Hitchens Diane M. Cowlin Roberta LaHue Polly Strelaeff Leony Malkow Lynette Davis Teena Wiebe Bonnie Nilsen Shirley Beck Sarah Chambers Madeline McIntyre Kelly Seville Darlene Willness Sheila Ferris Kay Trubetskoff A. Chursinoff Mary Gleboff - determined at a joint meeting. care questions Private enterprise. But isn’t Cel- gar a private enterprise? Joan Roth Castlegar, BC Looking forward to more Dear Editor: Marilyn Strong is a personality I deeply admire and respect. Her column prior to Christmas reg ing shopping hours in during this season reflecte feelings of so many working ple. When she adopted a “Granny” during Christmas, it brought tears toppeoples eves New Years Eve, my husband and I quit smoking. About the time I grew weakest with my res- olution, Ms. Strong's column survival. I also understand that this West Kootenay area offers both political arenas very little and we do have a history of “off the beaten track canadiana”. Therefore, in this political arena as in the arenas of past, the people of the West Kootenays have been the receptacles of a political fall out. We have always been the first to be placed on y no bridge hold, the last to be rewarded especially regarding the substan- dard highway network in our area. Recent history bears out the facts. “Castlegar” must be a place on the map that transportation ministries, past and present, wish did not exist P. Morris Casti i -Robson b Article appreciated Dear Editor: On behalf of myself and the Castlegar and District Heritage Society, I would like to thank Sun reporter, Jim Zeeben, for the excellent coverage regarding the interview with Mr. John Charters and myself published in the Jan- uary 29, 1992 edition of the Castlegar Sun. The article was interesting, informative and accurate and pre- sented a clear picture of the Soci- ety’s background and our immediate and future goals. Keep- Letters Policy Letters to the Editor are wel- come on any topic of local or general interest. Letters should ing the public infozmed about the Society's activities and plans is a most important facet of our func- tion in the community and this feature did that in a positive way. We look forward to your con- tinued support. Yours sincerely, John H. Coyle President Support your local be double-spaced, typ or legibly handwritten, and no more than two pages if possible. Let- ters will be edited in the interests of brevity or taste if necessary. All letters must be signed, with address and telephone number, although names may be witheld from publication for valid reason by the approval of the editor. Send letters to: The Castlegar Sun 465 Columbia Ave., Castlegar, B.C., VIN 1G8, or drop them off at the office. HAIRLINES 1444 Columbia Ave., Castlegar, B.C., 365-6700 Mon. - Sat. Wed. & Thurs. ‘til 8:00 pm Monday Tuesday Tuesday March 2 March 3 March 3 March 3 March 3 Tuesday Tuesday Tuesday March 3 SCHOOL DISTRICT #9 School Open Houses For Education Week Tarrys Blueberry Creek Castlegar Primary (PM. P-1 Only!) Sunspun 1 Ib Maple Leaf 500 g. pkg 719 with coupon without coupon | Kelloggs 675 g. box 919 '2.99 = bi a coupon ! —------ eS Se i ! Sunspun ¢ 1 Litre $ with coupon the Ootischenia Cemetery Mrs. Kanigan was bom April 25, 1908 at Arran, Saskatchewan and came to Brilliant with her Parents as a young girl. She mar- nied Walter C. Kanigan at Ootis- chenia in 1935. She lived at Ymir for a short time returning to Ootischenia where she lived the rest of her life. She was a mem- Charles Henry King Cassell of Kamloops and Mar- jorie King of Calgary and four grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, donations to 13 grandchildren She was predeceased by her husband Walter in 1989 and two brothers; Alex and William Koot- nikoff. Funeral arrangements were under the direction of the Castle- gar Funeral Chapel Mr Orr has at least something to believe in What saddens me is that the kind of negative carping in the media which we SoCreds continually com- revitalization is now in an indefinite state of “hold”, and city council had better start planning for heavy duty traffic—after all, the new pulp mill will start running in just over a year and that means a sea of chip trucks will be heading right own you-know-where As for the people in Robson, what else can you say? Here's a group of people who have been striving, working and arguing towards a definite Wednesday Thursday March 4 appeared in the “Castlegar Sun Macks with reference to general feelings regarding smoking. I was saved! I sincerely thank you for printing her column and I am looking for- ward to reading more columns from this very intelligent lady Joy R d (A Busi women in Castlegar) for the provincial govemment Assume that a policeman ears about $20 an hour and that his car costs a like amount to operate; total $40 an hour. He should easily be able to hand out four tickets an hour and should have little trouble in finding suitable victims. At $75 a ticket, that’s $300 an hour, a profit of $260 an hour or over $2000 on an eight hour shift If they put that up to $125 a ticket, it will bring in $3680 per shift, or $1.3 million a‘ year on the basis of a daily shift. Double shift and double your profit. Not a bad retum for a $30,000 car and a couple of men. If they would care to privatize it, I August. But by all accounts. the vin- tage travelled well “It was still very drinkable,” says one MoD wine buff. “Marshal plained of in the Bennett and Vander — Shaposhnikov was tippled, er, tick- Zalm years is now at work again, this led pink.” time directed at the NDP. ree I'd be the last fellow to go easy on Anyone who awoke sweating socialists. And yet, as a member of from a nightmare five years ago and y . the press, I'm disturbed. Our Vancou- recounted their vision of big US Air ee wusluace Luuicren waeaicee ver colleagues have got the govern- Force and RAF jets streaking must pain the heart of God, but every . ment they wanted. Why aren't they towards major Russian cities could now and then, it shines. say all the wrong things. a happy? : : : reasonably have been supposed to see But if there REALLY is no money left to play have had a prophetic glimpse of It may be just a rumour, but the with, what else can we do but innovate, improvise nuclear disaster. How pleasant is the word is that it's going to cost $125 and hope for better times to come? reality that when this scene was final- for a speeding ticket before very were long. It wasn’t that long ago that it were a mirror image of the Soviet despotism. Anyone who understands the crude exploitation by the USSR of the territories which it controlled, from the Oder-Neisse line to the Mongolian border, will concede that had the roles been reversed, the idea of Soviet planes bringing food aid to a desolate USA is inconceivable There is much in America that Project Fair Kin. ElemJ/V.V. Thurday = March Twin Rivers Thursday March 5 Board of School Trustees School District No. 9 (Castlegar) 865 Columbia Ave., Castlegar, B.C. VIN 1H3 99 without = coupon VAnmaenanena’ ‘CUCUMBERS: Long English ¥ 29 coupon On Sunday, February 23, 1992, Charles Henry King of Castlegar passed away at the Trail Regional Hospital at the age I fear they do whine indiscrimi- nately and tell themselves that they are therefore being objective Silver Rattle I’m sure that’s what the current government ose ly enacted, the aircraft freighters not bombers and the cargo not bombs but food for our starving bankrupt former enemy. would say. Gee, milk cartons float, don’t they? There was a good touch from Tom King, British Defence Secretary, when he met Russia’s defence minister Mar- shal Shaposhnikov in London the other day. King surprised his guests by There w fashionable among our over-educated elite to consider the USA and the as a time when it was was put up to $75. At the time of the last increase, we were treated to a lit- eee tle homily about the dangers of speed, which is true enough if you're doing 80mph in fog. It’s not much of an argument when you're getting would be interested in the franchise. Finally, you will be glad to know that our Olympic team in Albertville is well supported by its sponsors. I did not realize how thorough had of 82 years Funeral service will be held at St. David's Anglican Church on Thursday, February 27, 1992 at 2 p.m. with Rev. Dorothy Barker officiating. the Heart and Stroke Foundation, Box 3023 Castlegar, BC would be appreciated. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of the Castle- gar Funeral Chapel. Antiques 301-11 Ave. Castlegar. (in Tulips Building) 365-5191 1 49 without 1 LB 8 A coupon | a p= gle lca | ' SUGAR Mr. King was born July 4, 1909 at Calgary, Alberta. He moved with his parents to Crawford Bay in 1921 where he lived until mov- ing to Trail in 1926 to take up pinched for doing 60 in a 50 zone on a nice dry day with good visibility and no other cars within half a mile As many people get caught in such circumstances and rather less where their folly becomes truly criminal and been their provisioning, however, until this week when I bought a pack- et of Olympic stamps at the post office. The cardboard wrapper paid tribute to Kraft, an official sponsor and proudly proclaimed ‘Miracle 4kg 39 USSR as morally equivalent, cynical super powers which manouevered to retain advantage within their spheres of influence. The victory of America in the Cold War is two fold. First, we won S.1. uncorking a couple of bottles of Di % Acio>t Crimean 1939 vintage Kastel Muscat BE dq Cs He bought them at Sotheby's last i ene By Don Addis The wine, from a former Imperial Russian vineyard just a cannon shot away from the site of the Charge of In 1939 he married Nellie | TOLD You WHY YOUR FAMILY NEVER VisiT5! ™ YouRE THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS! NURSI 1S POLITICALLY INDEPENDENT AND A MEMBER OF THE STERLING NEWS SERVICE Established November 28, 1990 Published by The Castiegar Sun Weekly on Wednesdays 465 Columbia Ave., Castlegar, B.C. V1N 1G8 the Light Brigade, survived World War II hidden away in Georgia. only to become caught up in the coup attempt en route to London last Communism in Europe is dead, never to be revived. As important though is the demon- Stration that we are not and never as virtually everybody will slip over the speed limit now and then, one is forced to wonder whether this is not Just an exercise in generating revenue Whip - Official Salad Dressing of Canada’s 1992 Olympic teams’ Obviously nothing has been left to chance. Budget tries to please public and provinces MIKE DUFFY Syndicated Columnist In the desert the beast of burden is the camel, in the mountains, it's the yak, in the Mulroney gov- emment, it's “the Maz.” On Tuesday Deputy Prime Minister Don Mazankowski - in his latest incamation as finance minister - presents his first budget to the Com- mons. It's a document the Tories fervently hope will be their road map out of the political desert Already some Tory backbenchers have begun referring to Maz as “the comeback kid” Maz is only Brian Mulroney's second finance nunister m eight years. And while his basic mes sage wal be simular to that of predecessor Michael Wilson. insiders say we can expect to we impor tant differences in the way Maz handles the mar keting of this budget The budget was to have been tabled Feb 11 but the date was set back to allow the PM to meet the premiers. To some degree the budget reflect 5 that meeting The implied message: this is a government that listens. But “listening” doesn’t mean a major change in economic direction. like Wilson, Maz believes Canada can not have sustained non-inflationary growth without cutting the deficit Canadians can expect to see further reductions in federal government spending amounting to “several billion dollars.” The military has al-ready been told to prepare for budget cuts and plans are afoot to privatize more Crown corporations in an effort to reduce the debt The recession lowered government revenues, Preventing Maz from meeting the deficit target of $30.5 billion this year. Despite this, Maz is pre- pared to increase spending - but only in carefully selected areas + Sources say the government will agree to help build the “Atlantic Expressway” - ex-tending the four-lane Trans-Canada highway trom Quebec to Newfoundland If Mantime industnes are 10 be competitive. they must have the highways to get their products to market + Speed up construction ot the fixed link between New Brunswick and PEI. This. too. would improve the Island's competitiveness. espe- cially in fish and food shipments, and tourism Because the projects is to be financed by private capital, there will be no negative impact on the federal deficit. + Maz will fast-track capital works projects like sewage treatment plants, which will improve the environment. What better time to get low prices from contractors than right now, when most builders are desperate for work? + And there will be new initiatives in coopera tion with the provinces to help laid-off workers upgrade their skills and a discussion paper on a guaranteed annual income. + RRSPs. The PM has described the RRSP-for housing scheme as a “gadget.” but concedes the idea as some political appeal, and would please a fumber of provinctal premiers including Bob Rac Sources say the budget will allow some limited use of RRSP funds for housing Maz wants to be seen as a man who's listened to both the provinces and the public and who has adyusted bis budyet within what hittle room he has to mancuv cr Not a bad hy ginning tor “the come back kid But it is a heck of a long road back And as Mulroney himself admits “if the economy doesn't recover, we re toast!” Amen May (Peggy) Davis of Nelson and they took up residence in Castlegar. After 20 year with Cominco, he assumed the position of Secre- tary-Treasurer of Castlegar School Board. While serving in this capacity he also drove school bus. He retired from the school board in 1970. During his early years in Castlegar Charlie was a Cub and Scout Leader and for many years taught St. John Ambulance first aid courses. He also served from many years as chairman of the Castlegar Public Library Board Mr. King is survived by his loving wife, Peggy, one son, Bob of Quesnel, daughters; Jeanette COLUMBIA TRUCK REPAIR *Gov’t. Inspection Facility ¢Guaranteed Quality Work Reasonable Rates °2 Qualified Heavy-Duty Mechanics AFTER HOURS SERVICE 2205 - 14th Ave., Castlegar (Turn in at Emcon) 2807 3446 Highway Dr., Tra 364-0222 Servicing the area for 4 years 365- iJ ' | 1 . | employment with Cominco. >. 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