Page 2A

The Castlegar Sun

Wednesday, April 15, 1992

FACBLIN

= Report

Continued from 1A

Whea contacted with this
information, Castlegar Mayor
Audrey Moore said she could not
recall if the service had been
offered to the city, but added if a
formal offer had been made, the
city would have likely declined it.

“The ferry was part of a
provincial infrastructure, why
would a city want to take respon-
sibility for it,” Moore said.

City Clerk Betty Price, later
contacted the Sun after checking
through her records and said that a
formal offer had never been

fuary outa beste te hea,

Robson resident and ferry
committee member George Stein
said now that the committee's
beliefs have been confirmed, let-
ters will be sent to other commn-
nities who were in line to have
their ferry service axed.

“We want other communities
to know that our committee might
have had a hand in saving their
ferry from receiving the same fate
as our own,” Stein said. "At the
same time we'll be asking them to
write the government in favour of
returning our service.

The B.C. Court of Appeal, the
highest court in this province,
will be hearing the Robson-
Castlegar ferry case in October.

the Supreme Court of Canada,”
Dalton finished.

Terry Dalton, from the Robson Ferry User Adhoc Com-
mittee, holds a copy of the Inland Ferry Report, which
was released last Friday after the committee had been
requesting to see the cabinet document for four years.

Wednesday, April 15, 1992

The Castlegar Sun

On April 7 a representative of
the local teacher's union met with
Rossland/Trail MLA Ed Conroy
in Victoria to protest a lack of
funding within the provincial
education system.

Local Union President Bill
Gorkoff said the visit, by past
president Joyce Adams, is a

Gorkoff said the British

be cutting two teaching staff, said
Gerkoff, an action he believes
will lead to class size violations.

“I believe the board will try to
do away with a limit on class size
due to a lack of funding,” he said.

No more than 30 students are
allowed per class under the
union's present collective agree-
ment,

Gorkoff fears that extending
the limit past 30 students would
result in an increased work load
for teachers and a lower quality
of education.

School District Nine Castlegar

Columbia Teacher's F.
Executive met with the

Superi d Terry Wayling
said the board's recently

PP’ d budget acknowledges
the fact that there will be 2.3
fewer teaching staff.

“My guess would be classes

RCMP getting the garbage off the roads

oe
When my mind turns to the

spotted a line of police vehicles
and other cars. Sometimes, you
don"t have to speed to get pulled

over. Just ask Constable Terry
Stevens.

“We're getting the garbage off
the road,” said Stevens. It is all a
part of the Private Vehicle

Program.

The six members ‘of the Nelson
Highway Patrol unit carry out
random spot checks on cars
throughout their jurisdiction,
which includes over 1,400 kilo-
metres of highway, and over
1,100 kilometres of secondary
roads, in the West Kootenays.

“We are primarily i in

The police do a road-side
check of anything that can possi-
bly go wrong with a private vehi-
cle, such as the lights, windows,
mirrors suspension, fluid levels,

Stevens said that two of the
most important items in the
engine check are the brake fluid
levels, and ensuring that the bat-
tery is secured in place. A loose
battery can end up in the engine
in an emergency stop, leading to

making sure vehicles are safe,”
Stevens said. “We want people to
Correct problems prior to getting
to us.”

Zero tolerance soon the norm for drivers with a heavy foot

BRENDAN HALPER
Sun staff

Castlegar drivers who enjoy
living life im the fast lane could
soon be in for a surprise.

Not only local motorists, but
anyone behind the wheel of a car
in British Columbia, should be
aware that RCMP and municipal
police throughout the province
will begin taking a ‘Zero Toler-
ance” approach toward those
drivers who exceed the posted
speed limits.

A new province-wide cam-
paign, dubbed ‘Compliance

Enforcement’ by RCMP, is

scheduled to start on April 16.

meant to raise among
those drivers who continually
speed . and of course reduce the
problem.

Cc sim-

ding to an RCMP press
Telease, the 5 speed of vehicles on
our highways and streets and the
apparent public perception that a
exists is of concern to

ply means that if a motorist
exceeds the posted speed limit,
he or she is at risk of being
stopped and receiving either a
written warning or a ticket—
regardless of how many kilome-
tres per hour the offender has
exceeded the limit by.

Staff Sergeant Hall of the
Castlegar RCMP detachment
said Compliance Enforcement is

police officers in British
Columbia.

Speeding is the third highest
contributing factor in motor vehi-
cle crashes leading to injuries
and death—and of course the
severity of accidents is directly
attributable to the speed of the
vehicle. In 1990 nearly 14,000
collisions involved unsafe speed.

Hall said RCMP are attempt-

ing to improve the behavior and
attitudes of drivers, by maintain-
ing a constant province-wide
effort

“It's mot a campaign to
increase tickets,”“Hall said. “In
many cases a warning will be
sufficient.”

Drivers can however, be
pulled over for exceeding the
limit by as little as four kilome-
tres per hour.

“If you're over the limit—
you're committing an offence,”
he said. “It is not written any-
where to say discretion must be
used.”

Allterrain vehicles barred from forestry roads

of-Way and Recreation Trail Reg-
ulation.

of all-terrain vehicles are no
longer allowed to use designated
roads.

British Columbia's Forests
the

Enf of the
said Bela Hirczy, ions engi-

Hirczy also said the Arrow

has the authority

to exempt persons from the regu-
lat fe ‘

neer for the Arrow Forest District,
will be carried out by Ministry of
Forests staff. He said staff could
Tequest the removal of such vehi-
cles from forestry roads, however,
only RCMP would have the
Power to actually remove such
Persons and their vehicles.

light, are twice as effi-

The City of Castlegar is con-
templating a street light conver-

from one type

of street tight to a new and

improved one, would cost approx-

imately $119,000 and take almost

two years to complete. ©

Electrical Engineer for West

Kootenay Power, Lorne Trickey,

Says the figure represents two
Sok $25.00 10 cna

the street lights by the city and

$86,000 for the actual conversion

‘Basically
two types of lights already
because the process of switching
to the newer type of light has
already begun. About two-thirds
of the street lights in Castlegar
would still need to be switched,”

cient—displaying the same
amount of light while using half
the electricity—as compared to

time is much less with the new
lights than with the ones the city is
using now,” Trickey continued.

He said an increasing number
of cities are implementing the con-
version in order to save money,
and many companies, including
WKP and B.C. Hydro are no
longer making the mercury-
vapour lights av:

“It’s not just changing the bulb
that's involved, but the entire fix-
ture. The only thing that remains
the same is the outside frame,”
Trickey said.

The city is being encourage to
purchase the lights from WKP and
by doing so save almost $16,000
annually on it’s power bill

“Naturally our rate is much
Cheaper if the customer owns their
own lights.”

After they presented city coun-
cil with this information Council-
lor Lawrence Chernoff questioned
the possibility of better lighting
over crosswalks in

“As far as I'm concerned the
lighting could be better over cross-
walks, especially. with the
increased amount of traffic com-

4

Teasons.
The new regulation is now in
effect and is applicable seven
days a week, Miller said.
“In the past, many users did

ing into the community,”

said. “I'd especially ius to ane to see
better lighting at crosswalks along
Columbia Avenue.”

Trickey said the concern is
valid and stated the 150-watt bulbs
could be used over crosswalks
rather than the 100-watt bulbs
which are currently being used. It
would not affect the current cost

the regulation,” he said. “The
recent changes should make it
clear that all-terrain vehicles are
prohibited.”

The minister said the combina-
tion of logging trucks and all-ter-
rain vehicles is just too hazardous
on forest service roads. Snowmo-
biles will be permitted on forestry
roads when the roads are not
plowed and they are not passable
by other traffic.

| ponders $119G street light conversion

of the conversion.

City Administrator Gary
Williams said the city is still eval-
wating the necessity of the conver-
sion and its cost.

“We didnt project to spend that
amount of money in the budget on

CKOQR Music Director Murray David Collins received a
surprise lunch from Cliff Waldie of Woodland Park
School. Collins, who could not attend the school's lunch,
was on location at Eremenko's Fit Rite Shoes at the time.

}

a —

If the car checks out okay, the
story ends here. But, if the car or
truck has a burnt-out headlight,
missing mirrors, or low fluid lev-
els, a Notice and Order will likely
be issued to the driver.

A Notice and Order looks like
a traffic ticket. It lists the minor
defects found, and orders the
driver to have those defects
repaired immediately. Then the
driver must report to a designated
inspection site (usually a local
garage) to prove that the repairs
were done.

“If it’s really bad, we call Mo,”
said Stevens.

Mo Ban is an inspector with
the Motor Vehicle Branch of the
Solicitor General's office. When
the RCMP are pulling vehicles
over for random checks, they
work side by side with Barry's
department.

“We are all fighting the same

battle,” said Stevens. “We might
as well work together.”

Barry, who has peace officer
status, has the main duty on the
roads enforcing of the PVIP’s sis-
ter program, the Commercial
Vehicle Inspection Program. He
also does the more extensive
checks on the vehicle.

A vehicle with major flaws
detected on the road will be sent
into a designated facility for a
more thorough inspection.

“If it's bad enough, we call a
tow truck,” said Stevens. Some-
times, if the vehicle is in an
extremely dangerous condition,
they will issue actual charges.

Both officers warned that
Proper maintenance pays off. The
increased traffic fines effect their
inspection programs.

“One of our biggest problems
with commercial vehicles is
brakes,” said Barry. The fine
increased from $100 to $250.

Private vehicle owners also
face the higher fines. Not wearing
a seatbelt, something covered in
the check, will cost you $75, an
increase of $40.

And make sure you carry your
driver's license. “There is no
requirement for police to give
you 24 hours,” Stevens warmed.
“That's not true. You will be
fined.

“I'd rather tell the public
through the media than when I
pull them over on the road.”

RCMP investigating
deaths as triple

homicide

‘Sun | Staff

Nelson RCMP are investigat-
ing the deaths of a young moth-
er and her twin babies as
homicide, said Sergeant Darrell
Graves.

The bodies of Aimee
Beaulieu, 19, and twins David
and Samantha, aged 11 months,
were discovered following an
April 3 blaze which gutted the
family’s mobile home located in

Kline's Trailer Park on Perrier
Rd. south of Nelson.

Police have determined that
the fire was not responsible for
the loss of life.

RCMP are requesting the
public’s assistance in their con-
tinuing investigation of the
fatalities. Anyone with informa-
tion is requested to call 352-
2156.

Police would not comment
further on details.

By Leigh Rubin

Pushin’ ain't gonna do us no good, Jed. We'll hav
to use the kick starter.”

443

Castlegar’s school board will

old Chelsea Zebert.

Robson residents, upset with the department of high-
ways for placing a 60 km/h speed limit sign on their
street, were much happier to see a new 40 km/h sign
in its place on Friday. The residents were told by high-
way's staff that a mistake had been made and
received an apology. Standing next to the sign are Joe
Zebert (left) and Scott Palsson, along with five-year

SUN STAFF PHOTO / Sharlene Imhoff

will be larger in September and
there will be a higher work load,”
Wayling said. “On the other
hand—the fact that they feel the
government should give more
money to individual school dis-
tricts, ignores the larger prob-

Castlegar school board to cut two teaching positions

lem—e ve: ryone. is going to have
to feel a pinch.”

Wayling said while some dis-
tricts are being forced to suffer
oer riley offs, Castlegar's dis-

the same hardships.

Alternative plan for paving
rehabilitation considered

HALPER.

Sun staff

The City of Castlegar has
come up with an alternate plan
for the rehabilitation of the city's
deteriorating streets.

The new plan entails the same
objectives as the original plan but
the work would take place over a
period of three to four years—
allowing the city to carry out the
rehabilitation with standard rev-
enue and avoid borrowing the
funds.

If last winter's referendum had
been passed, the city would have
spent $600,000 this year and
next, on pavement rehabilitation.
The referendum for the authority
to borrow $1.2 million was voted

down last December 14 by 12 per
cent of Castlegar’s voters—only
20 per cent of the city’s voting
population showed up.

Since the funds would be
coming directly from city's oper-
ating budget this time, no referen-
dum is required. However, the
work originally slated for two
years is now expected to take
four.

The city would spend
$350,000 this year and at least as
much in 1993

“We don't know a date yet,
they have to pass the budget
first,” said City Administrator
Gary Williams.

Castlegar'’s budget will be
passed in May, after which time
more specifics will be known.

Five year forest plan
underway by ministry

Sun Staff

Better acoustics for
Recreation Centre?

JASON KEENAN

Sun staff

The Rec Centre may he get-
ting a fine tuning in the near
future.

In a presentation to the Castle-
gar and District Recreation
Commission meeting Tuesday
April 7, Larry Moore, president
of Acoustic Sciences Corpora-
tion, told the commission of the
benefits of his acoustic plan for

installed on the walls, reducing
the echo.

“It's not going to be a record-
ing studio. ..but we can make the
system intelligible,” Moore told
the meeting.

He added that the rest of the
proposals wanted to overcome
the poor acoustics of the arena
by installing powerful sound
systems and overdriving the
room.

“You would have to spend

‘It's not going to be a recording studio, but we
can make the system intelligible.’

— LARRY MOORE
Acoustics Sciences Corporation

the arena at the Rec Centre.

“You have to treat a room
acoustically before you put in a
PA (public announcement) sys-
tem,” said Moore. His bid to
install a new sound system at the
arena concentrated more on the
acoustics of the arena itself than
the sound system.

The biggest problem with
sound in the arena is that the
sound waves bounce off the flat
walls, blurring the music. Moore
said that the sound should be
arranged so that it seems like all
of the sound is coming from one
point in the room.

The main feature of Moore's
proposal is the installation of his
companies Tube Truss system
along the walls. The hollow
tubes, made Of fiberglass and
fiberglass insulation, are

three times the money on power
to get anywhere as good as this,”
he said. The added benefit of
treating the room is that once the
tubes are in place, the arena will
be better for concerts, even if they
use their own sound systems.

With the acoustics under con-
trol, Moore said that the arena
would only need a basic 250-
watts-per-speaker sound system
that could be easily upgraded in
the future.

Moore said his company’s
proposal was offering the Rec
Centre a factory direct price of
$25,000. He said that if his com-
pany was able to install it's
acoustical treatment it would be
a show-piece for his company.

The meeting moved into pri-
vate discussion before the pro-
posal was discussed.

Greater forest sustainability
and better forest practices are
key goals of five-year forest
management plan tabled in the
legislature by Forests Minister
Dan Miller on April 7.

“Our objective is to ensure
the management of our forests is
based on sound ecological prac-
tices and reaches the highest
stewardship standards,” Miller
said.

The Five Year Forest and
Range Resource Program—
1992-1997 includes three princi-
pal initiatives:

* a major update of forest
inventories,

‘Our objective
is to ensure
the management
of our forests
is based on
sound ecological

— DAN MILLER
Minister of Forests

* a review of harvest levels
and,

« development of a Forest
practices Code.

“These initiatives are
designed to adapt our forest
management to meet the chang-
ing expectations of all British
Columbians,” Miller said.

The Minister said the three
key initiatives are interrelated
and involve the Forest Service
and a number of other agencies.

“In the past our inventories
focused on estimates of timber
volume at the management-unit
level. Through work with all
other resource agencies, we are
now updating inventory infor-
mation to reflect all forest val-
ues.”

Miller said the information
will be more detailed for select-
ed areas of intensive resource
conflict and will be readily
accessible at the local level.

“Our re-examination of the
harvest level will include a
review of where and how much
we harvest. Most of our harvest
levels were set during the early
1980's and do not reflect subse-
quent changes in management
practices.”

The Minister said the public
is demanding better conserva-
tion and management of biologi-
cally diverse forests and
old-growth ecosystems. These
Pressures require a review of our
harvest to ensure sustainability,
he said.

“The development of a Forest
Practices Code will help ensure
our forest practices are sustain-
able,” Miller added. He also re-
iterated the Forest Service's
commitment to complement the
efforts of the Commission on
Resources and Environment

“The Forest Service has been

DAN MILLER

a pioneer in resource ptanning
pablic involvement in this
province,” he said. “We 1ook
forward to playing a key role,
along with other agencies, in
helping the commission fulfill
its task.”

The five-year plan is required
under the Ministry of Forests
Act and is updated annually to
detail the ministry's objectives,
methods and schedules for man-
agement of the province's forest
and range resources.

Copies of the publication are
available from: Public Affairs
Branch, 595 Pandora Street,
Victoria, B.C., V8W 3E7,; Phone
387—5255

OUTLOOK:

WEATHER _

The forecast for Wednesday; Gen-
erally sunny with highs near 18.
Thursday calls for mainly sunny
skies and warm temperatures.
Good Friday looks like it will be cloudy with a chance of
@ shower. For. the rest of the Easter weekend it looks
like it will be moist with seasonal temperatures:

18.2/12

Precipitation:

Number of
Hours

38.4

April 10 - 1414.37 ft.

A LOOK BACK AT THE PAST WEEK:
Temperature: Max/Date Min/Date

4.7/8 6.3 7.5

REMARKS: A cool relatively dry air mass lay over the
southern B.C. interior the past week. Except where
cloud cover persisted overnight temperatures were
below 0. A southwesterly flow predominated on the
12th, driving freezing levels up and brought bands of
cloud and showers inland from the Oregon coast.

Forecast provided by by The South - East Interior Weather Office
at Castlegar, B.C.

ARROW LAKE RESERVOIR FORECAST
© April 17 - 1416.99 ft.

Mean Normal

Mean

Normal
Total

11.6

Normal Number
of Hours

37.5

Long-term care patients to pay user fees

SHARLENE IMHOFF
Sun Editor

Long-term care patients occu-
pying acute-care hospital beds for
more than 30 days will now be
charged a daily user fee equiva-
lent to the fee charged to resi-
dents of acute-care homes.

Health Minister Elizabeth Cull
made the announcement last Fri-
day, stating the change reflects
one of the many recommenda-
tions by the British Columbia
Royal Commission on Health
Care and Costs.

“This new charge corrects an
anomaly in the-current program

and will result in similar Patients
cared for in different faci
being treated the same way,

Cull.

Castlegar and District Hospital
Administrator Ken Talarico says
he agrees with the reasons given
by Cull as to why the new
charges are being implemented.

“I can see it helping financial-
ly. And it’s fairer to those people
who are in long-term care homes
who have to pay the fee as it is,”
Talarico said.

Although there are currently
no acute-care patients in the hos-
pital, Talarico says the average
number of peton ranges from
two to five people.

“I’m not sure how long the
average stay is,” he said

According to a news release
sent by the Ministry of Health, an
acute care patient who is assessed
as suitable for long term car
(either extended or continuing
care) and who is transferred into
one of those facilities, is automat
ically required to begin paying
the long-term care facility's user
fee; up to $22.90 per day. re

However, prior to the min
istry’s change, acute-care hospital
patients who have been assessed
as being eligible for long-terr
care benefits, and who have not
been transfered if 16a longtettn
care facility, for whatever reason
have not been required to pay the
same long-term care user fee

Those people already assessed
as eligible for long term care and
occupying acute-care beds will
not be required to begin paying
the user fee until May 12.

New patients will not be
required to pay the long-term
care user fee until 30 days after
they have been assessed as being
eligible for continuing-care bene-
fits.

While long-term care clients
normally pay their own user fees,
the Ministry of Social Services is
able to pay these fees for eligible
clients.

Weekend accident claims one life

Sun Staff

killed when his vehicle caught
the shoulder of the road and

Local RCMP report that a 28-
year old man from Castlegar is
dead after receiving injuries in
an accident which occurred
along the old railroad bed, West
of the Hugh Keenleyside dam at
approximately 7:20 p.m., Sun-
day.

Darcy Dean Prokop was

entered the ditch.

Preliminary investigations
have found that the deceased
man sustained injuries when he
was thrown from the vehicle.

Another passenger, 23-year
old Darren Berg of Raspberry,
remains in hospital with unde-
termined injuries. Darren

Bankert, 23, also of Castlegar
was examined at the hospital
and then release, while the only
female passenger, 22 year-old
Jagi Alexander of Castlegar,
escaped injuries

RCMP and the coroners
office are still investigating

FOR CONVICTION OF VANDALS OF
WEST KOOTENAY POWER PROPERTY

Vandalism is a cost we all bear in increased electrical rates and service
interruptions. West Kootenay Power's reward program pays up to
$2000 for information leading to positive identification of persons
wilfully damaging insulators, powerlines and equipment or trespassing

in WKP compounds. Incidents may be reported to the nearest WK

office or your local police station

Castlegar 365-8212 -
ireenwood 445-6455
Osoyoos 495-2474 -

Crawtord Bay 227-9231 -
+ Kaslo 353-2446 - Kelowna 860-2126 - Keremeos 499-5844 - Oliver 498-2474

Penticton 493-3618 - Salmo 357-9711 - South Slocan 359-7613 - Trail 368-9111

WEST KOOTENAY POWER

Creston 428-5357 -

Grand Forks 442.3142