Castlegar News PAGE A4, SATURDAY, JULY 13, 1991 [>> _, MEMBER OF THE B.C, PRESS COUNCIL ESTABLISHED AUGUST 7, 19047 TWICE WEEKLY MAY 4, 1980 THE PUBLISHED ” 27, 1900 ISHER, AUGUST 7, 1947-FEBRUARY 1§, 1973 LV. CAMPBELL - PUBL! L FEBRUARY 16, 1973-MAY 1, 1901 BURT CAMPBELL, PUBLISHER EMERITUS ~ PUBLISHER, PUBLISHER ~Dave McCullough EDITOR = Simon Birch PLANT FOREMAN ~ Poter Harvey OFFICE MANAGER —Warren Chemoft Fn \GER ~ Heather XSF CURCULATION MANA‘ Hadley SENIOR SALES REPRESENTATIVE — Gary Fleming EDITORIAL ‘91 a banner year already If you think back over the last six months, you'll realize that 1991 will go down in the books as a very special year for He sien Commission’ REPORT i$ PUT TD 00D AS 77 Up. (* azote TOWEL DISPENSERS. e July Castlegar. Construction of Celgar’s massive modernizatior’ project is doubted! highlight, since it provides both an i di ate economic boost and a confident signal that Castlegar's LETTERS TO THE EDITOR REMEMBER WHEN 13,1991 Castlegar News AS five years ago this week. 40 YEARS AGO From the July 12,1951 Castle News it To date seven of the ten new appointments to the Stanley Humphries high school have been made. These include: Miss M. Millican who has accepted an appointment to the home economic department. Miss Millican is a Trail resident, took her high school there and then took her Bachelor of Home Economics Degree at the Uni- versity of B.C.. Plans for the Robson Wom- en’s Institute Strawberry Festi- val and Sports Day, to be held on Saturday, are almost com- plete. This year’s festival will include: boat racing, water ski- ing, surfboard riding, sports for the children and ball games, with a big wind-up dance in the evening. 25 YEARS AGO | From the July 14, 1966 Castlegar News Yesterday was a red letter day at the Celgar pulp division here. At 8 a.m. on Wednesday July Jennifer Peterson Is named Miss Castlegar 1986 at the annual pageant 13 the employees at the plant. completed one year without any- body losing time because of an injury on the job. This represents almost 900,000 man hours of disabli its Tuesday night meeting. eee Local gas prices, which have d slight, 1: or injury-free work. eee Columbia River waters at Kinnaird bridge turned jet black on Saturday morning as oil from an overturned tanker began draining into the river. RCMP officers at the scene delayed their investigations while workmen frantically tried to pump oil from the upset vehi- cle into another tanker. 15 YEARS AGO From the July 15, 1976 Castlegar News A tourist booth located locally has become a reality for the "Castlegar and District Chamber of Commerce, but manning it has turned out to be another matter. Chamber president Albert Calderbank says literature for booth visitors is not a problem. The chamber’s stock is the best ever, including its brand. all-time high of 91.9 cents a gal- lon for regular at almost every city service station, have been brought to the attention of Kootenay West MLA Bob Brisco, who has told-the Castlegar News the federal government is carfully examining the situa- tion. He would also like to assure the constituents of the Castlegar area that he is keeping in touch with the Hon. Rafe Mair, the Minister of Consumer Affairs for British Columbia. 5 YEARS AGO td From the July 13, 1986 Castlegar News An ideal climate for growing marijuana, a sharp drop in the price of cocaine, and a lack of manpower at southeastern British Columbia border cross- ings are all contributing to an brochure introduced this spring. But money to man the booth appears to have brought the whole issue to a standstill. A request for a $3,000 grant from city council was turned down at in ics trafficking in the Kootenays, the head of the Nelson RCMP d h t's Doidge, who for the last two and a half years has been battling the drug trade in 22 southeast- ern B.C. communities with the help of only one other officer in the drug section. eee Hi Arrow Arms moved into a first-place tie with Checkers Pub this week in the Commercial Fastball League. Both teams have 20 points. However, Checkers gets the nod because it has played two fewer games than the hotel club. Labatts is two points back of the leaders with 14 wins and’ seven losses for 28 points. The Valley Juniors are fourth with eight points, while Salmo picked up its second and third victories of the year this week to move to within two points of the Juniors. SunFest ‘86 shifted into high gear Saturday after a sluggish start Friday, thanks in no small part to the weather. The sun broke through cloudy skies enough times Saturday to warm things up and the rain that th the drug section said Friday. “Cocaine is really on the increase and marijuana is an ongoing problem,” said Cpl. H.L. d for day held off, enabling SunFest participants and spectators to enjoy the day’s events without getting wet. long-term future is secure. Given the pace with which Cana- to pay the obnoxious GST on her donut. But like so many Social Credit promises da’s resource-based communities have been shrivelling up H . and dying during recent years, the Celgar investment alone. is GST hits hard cause for celebration. ee t \ But there's icing — plenty of it — on this cake. Student res- the road enjoying a coffee and donut in the idences on the Selkirk campus ... a new bridge ... health care corner cafe I ask myself, how can 0 = improvements ... progress toward a major new river-side park S8TOwn-up, educated Lagoa he bart "bo ... extensive roadwork ... solid plans for a downtown facelift... ous ged pica helper So thee oe tpg an assortment of private sector initiatives ... all these and them a business tycoon co ng . t of lobster, Do ul, or caviar and more sre evigence of a bright future for the on the be pan irn spi d pia bn orotate the whole crossroads. per ay caboosh as a tax deduction. It defies belief <._Azother very positive event, although it didn’t get much that any human being could tax food in the = attention, was the announcement last week that'the Ministry first place. of Lands and Parks has donated Crown land immediately But here is the real mindbender: those = south of Highway 3 and west of the Columbia River for a new very 200 have above average salaries, City of Castlegar public works yard. ly above ag ions and perks On the surface, this is notable for the fact that it will save — donot have to be 65 — because when ratepayers some money when the time comes to replace the posrnaes of living increases “so does the =‘ current yard, which the city has outgrown. bt i Far more important though, is the favorable impact the a pasenwile: the lithe ld se ee ct : move can have on ‘downtown Castlegar. A public works yard suffers if her oiat of living goes up by these ” is simply not suitable use for land in the heart of the city, and inhuman gouges and claw-backs because the availability of that strategically important parcel, com- her meagre pension is reduced. It is hard to bined with adjacent land already owned by the city, makes _pelieve this is actually happening in our n redevelopment of the site much more likely. beloved compassionate Canada, perpetrated —_ year’s Socred budget speech, which Will such a redevelopment take place? Further moves on by Canadians? promised that “more people in the North the part of the city may be necessary, and would be justifiable These same 200 will be touring Canada and the Interior will be able to enjoy the full as part of our itment to a healthier d n core. seeking love and i iol her vet F b “yi oe er ener Asintance sary i and Canada. We all remember pride an wil provi: exten wer and gas. x ania rt Seampis, ve soaps to rediacs tos Le of the elation shown by the shameful 200 Tories lines to rural areas . . . this government land in order to facilitate redevelopment. And if Mayor A es) . and Tory senators as they defeated the opin- _ responds to the aspirations of every region Andrey soore and ber colleagu saat mse asked for property tax ions of the Canadians and their plea for of this province.” conesssions, they should consider: then: seriously. Every effort compassion. They went on hell bent to tax More than 100 licati were ived should be made to : Leah the donut of the little old lady down the road + by communities under the Power and Gas Development of the public works yard shouldn’t happen at __ shame, what shame. E ion Program. These ratepayers” expense, but it must remain a top priority for Being a Christian nation we will wish burned the equivalent of 610,000 barrels of Moore and her colleagues. . s them well in retirement — we know full well crude Oil to generate power last year. They If they succeed, 1991 will go down in the books as a banner they will not suffer the hardship “enforced” —_ leaped at the Socred offer to clean, modern : year indeed. on the little old lady down the road who has_—_ energy. This inhuman tax has to go - sooner or over the past five years, Has one prod: i i wn later. ‘ empty. The Socreds have quietly cancel When I see those little old ladies do Hencld Ealden preapaets green , Nanoose Bay, B.C. with nothing but more promises. T’ve spoken out for your community in the legislature, but the Socred government is refusing to keep its promise to rural B.C. : residents. I urge your readers to contact Socreds axe power _ Energy Minister Jack Weisgerber (Legisla- tive Buildings, Victoria V8V 1X4) and Call it a broken promise, or perh d that the program be expanded, not another case of the Socred government’s eliminated. performance falling short of its rhetoric, but Anne Edwards there’s a missing item in this year’s provin- Kootenay MLA cial budget that will affect people in the New Democrat Energy Critic Kootenay region. The Social Credit government has axed the power and gas expansion program for hard-to-serve B.C. communities. Few people have noticed this cut, since most of the attention around the 1991 Socred t has focused on the record $1.2 billion deficit this year. Ke i might Give it a Second Thought .. . If you have decided not to return to school this Fall. Young people today are being greatly challenged: An ever- enlarging technological world is increasing its demand for greater and greater skills and knowledge. This means that today's students MUST have some form of education beyond the basics. Recognizing this, the following institutions Please address all letters to the editor to: Letters to the Editor, Castlegar News, P.O. Box 3007, Castlegar, B.C. VIN 3H4, or deliver them to our office at 197 last Columbia Ave. in Castlegar. Letters should be typewritten, double- spaced and not longer than 300 words. Letters MUST be signed and include the writer's first and last names, address and a telephone number at which the writer-can-be reached between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. The writer's name and city or town of residence only will be published. Only in. exceptional cases will letters be Pp without the writer's name. Nevertheless, the name, address and number of the writer MUST be disclosed to the editor. The Castlegar News reserves the right to edit letters for brevity, clarity, legality, grammar and taste. Regional Colleges — Vocational Schools Universities — Technological Institutions and Industries Offering Apprenticeships ... are providing programs designed to properly prepare young and mature students for today's changing world. Invest In Your Future By Returning to School. Education... your best investment! Post-Secondary Education Opportunities in Arts + Environmental calling similar to religion Colkirk Editor's note: Colleen McCrory. Just saying the name raises the blood pressure of people in the forest industry. The Silverton resident gained notoriety In the 1980s as one of the leaders in the fight to preserve Valhatia Park as a wilderness.and has since known asan rH mental activist. CasNews columnist Catherine Shapcott profiles the person David Suzuki calls an “eco-hero.” nw Second of two parts. Catherine Shapcott o call Colleen McCrory an envi! ; ist — or even an activist — is as revealing as coloring a tree green. It’s true enough, but it doesn’t capture the depth and breadth, the vision and humanity, of someone who has devot- ed her adult life to standing by her beliefs. “Feisty fighter”: . . “wilderness defender’ . . . “award-winning environmental activist” — the media descriptions re-enforce the qualities and achievements of Colleen in the usual role which i i her as envir 1 warrior. Colleen also perpetuates the eco-crusader image by focusing so much of what she says and does on environmental issues. She continually calls for more government and industry account- ability; emphasizes the need for a “meaningful public process;” deplores “corporate greed” and “disastrous” logging practices; promotes a more retary” in the history of the Valhalla Society (a New Denver based environmental group), Colleen discovered her forte — networking, lobby- ing, public speaking. The honors for her consum- ing involvement in the Valhalla and South Moresb igns wi ished: the Gov- ernor General's award in 1983, and in 1990, a itati from E ii i Still answering questions, she’s also preparing a curry dinner for seven people (no big deal for someone who used to orchestrate 50 Meals‘on Wheels). She keeps interrupting herself to add another report she thinks I should read. Supper offers no respite from the intense large areas of wilderness,” she explains. “If we don’t have the vision to set aside those areas, if we don’t look down the road = not 20 years but hundreds and thousands of years — our vision is too small. “These are living museums of times where we can go to get away from the commercialism in our lives. These values are different from mone- tary values — preserving wilderness for its own sake, for future generations. We don’t even have to know all the reasons why it will be impor- tant.” If people don’t heed her message, Colleen will repeat it until they do. Don’t expect her to stop or go away. “Colleen has true grit,” says her brother Wayne, a biologist and authority on grizzly bears. “She doesn’t back off and get involved in unnecessary compromises. She’s one of the best in the country, working with media and lobby- ing.” Her friend and environmental colleague Grant Copeland describes her as “a dynamo of energy — very dedicated, with an unusual talent for com- municating with the public and bringing people together.” The perception of Colleen as an environmen- in | issues. Their i mental appetites whetted by talk of hotspots and di d and local Y; regrets human alienation from nature; and encourages people to get involved. For the better part of an afternoon, she doesn’t break stride except to curse a rumbling chip truck, to answer the perpetually ringing telephone, or welcome another visitor. She talks about her childhood delight in out- door adventures led by her brother Wayne; about growing up poor yet rounding up “strays and bachelors” for ial di ; about her life as an athlete, wife, mother and community activist. The , is on the tal work to which she-has committed the last 16 ‘After an inauspicious debut as the “worst sec the dinner guests are scrutinizing a map of B.C.’s end: d wilderness, i ing p Jeulati litical tradeoffs. It’s only one of many concerns that consume Colleen in the course of a day (beginning at dawn and often ending in the middle of the night), which collectively create the i out of which she operates. In a photo session, for exam- ple, she asks to change the location because there’s a clearcut in the background. The Environment, more than just a cause, is “sort of like her religion, her ministry,” says Kathy. It is also Colleen’s vision of how the world needs to be. “We're the last generation that can set aside tal d; is so overwhel it’s easy to over- look the other things that are important to her, to ignore other traits. Her closest advisor and beloved friend Richard Caniell says her “remark- able sense of community” and humanity provide the context and corroborate the values for which she fights. “People are surprised at the warmth and real- ity of her personality,” says Caniell, “She's not a tape loop for environmental concerns. The human being is always there.” Insisting that she doesn’t want “to talk about trees all the time,” Colleen laments: “People don’t know I have a life here.” What else is important? Her three children (the youngest lives in New Denver), and becom- ing a grandmother. ‘There's her family (three siblings and her father live locally), and friends — “one of the best gifts in my work.” There are lunches with a- Doukhobor friend; links with the Japanese com- munity; and hanging out at the Apple Tree cafe. There is a love of animals (her house is drop-in centre for dogs and cats), old movies, gar- dening, skiing, biking, travelling and hiking in the mountains. Most of the time, these are fond memories and fantasies. Colleen says she'd like more balance in her life, time to be among friends and family, to enjoy activities which give her pleasure, such as canning and baking bread. Susie Homemaker? “It’s.true,” Colleen confesses. Although she has no doubt about her environ- mental calling, “it’s a lonely job. I never get to put my feet down, be at home. It’s painful to go away. I’ve been at the end of campaigns and cried because I had to leave.” This measure of suffering, according to Caniell, disti ishes her i from ordinary environmental activism. “Colleen has paid many more prices than most people who know her well know about,” he says. Considering her family roots in logging and min- ing, ivism and fond: for peo- ple, Caniell notes the trauma of social alienation. ‘The costs have also included divorce, long sep- arations from friends, family and especially her children. There was a smear campaign whose repercussions continue to be felt, and a burden of bills which were often left to the benevolence of the cosmos. - Describing her views and values as out of fashion with the majority, Caniell argues they’re embodied in Colleen and the causes to which she has dedicated her life: “She still has a frontier purity, and a quality of hominess. She really is a mother and former housewife battling with corporate giants. It’s a remarkable J Given the resilience of her spirit and her faith in an unpopular vision, given the context of resistance and struggle, it’s not only remarkable, but heroic. BCE) ; Further Education ...A Wise Choice! Invest in Greater Skills & Knowledge School District No. 9 (Castlegar) « _ Kootenay Savings ollege Your Access to Opportunity. . . Celebrating 25 years as YOUR Community College! Castlegar Campus Box 1200 To Learn More, Contact: 3 (604) 365-7292 De NELSON UNIVERSITY CENTRE UNDERGRADUATE FOCUS : Faculty are dedicated to inspiring university students of all ages to question, to problem- solve and to think critically. SMALL CLASSES Classes at NUC are small and Where You Belong TRAIL NAKUSP FRUITVALE NEW DENVER CASTLEGAR WANETA PLAZA KASLO SALMO SOUTH SLOCAN Pp You are a person, not a number lost in the crowd. 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