Wednesday, August 19, 1992 m@ Wi Basement blaze quickly extinguished by city crews Jonathan Green NEWS REPORTER Castlegar firefighters paid a visit to West’s Department Store Monday, but shopping _ was probably the last thing on their minds. Castlegar fire chief Gerry Rempel said the station re- ceived a call at 9:19 a.m. Mon- day of a fire at West’s Depart- ment Store and responded promptly with 13 firefighters and two pumper trucks. Crews arrived to find a fire in the basement of the store, and it was extinguished short- ly after. Rempel said the majority of the firefighters left within an hour-and-half, with the others remaining behind to contend with remaining smoke. “Fire damage was quite minimal,” he said, estimating some $900 in damage. “We were mainly there for smoke ejection.” Rempel said the cause of the fire looked to be electrical, but that it was still under in- vestigation by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs. “It does appear to be elec- trically related,” he said, “but the exact cause still has not been determined.” Store manager Peter Vatkin confirmed Rempel’s electrical belief, saying the fire was caused by an overheated circuit breaker, but added it was something that wasn’t preventable. “It’s not something you can control,” he said. “It’s not like some oily rags hanging around you can clean up. “It was just one of those things that happens.” No injuries were reported. Ministry investigator Craig Pickerell could not be reached for comment. @ Wednesday, August 19, 1992 C. stands behind Cominco: NEWS STAFF British Columbia is giving Cominco a pat on the back. The Environment Ministry Monday issued a news release applauding the Trail opera- tions plans aimed at ending tail slag-dumping into the Columbia River one year earlier than originally scheduled. The lead and zinc smelter announced that it will eliminate all slag-dumping by Dec. 31, 1995. It’s current discharge permit as issued by B.C. Environ- ment expires on Dec. 31, 1996. “B.C. Environment views this as a positive commitment on the part of Cominco, particu- larly in light of the continued public concern about slag disposal into the river and the re- port on bioassay studies released (Monday) by the federal government.” Environment Min- ister John Cashore stated in a news release. The Departments of Fisheries, Oceans and Environment report indicates that tail slag is not biologically inert and is considered harm- ful to fish and other organisms. Cominco re- leases some 360 tonnes of slag per day. Cominco’s announcement pushes ahead by 18 months the company’s plan to build a land- based disposal system for tail slag. The land-based disposal system was sched- uled to come on line in 1996 to coincide with the operation of Cominco’s new mega-smelter. “We are pleased Cominco has announced its intention to speed up this important step in reducing the environmental impact of its Trail smelter operation,” Cashore stated. Cominco is set to make a decision on its new smelter in December or January. The company had originally introduce a giant QSL smelter in 1989, only to discover it didn’t work. Cominco is currently studying modification to that QSL to make it operational or a com- plete switch to a Kivcet unit. No cuts at P and T News pnotos by Jonathan Green The Castlegar Volunteer Fire Department was put to work early Monday morning, as a 13-member crew responded to a-blaze at West's Department Store. Rankin ready to release Canada Post says retail service works . Price Waterhouse study @ City-appointed lawyer set to air report this week Neil Rachynski NEWS REPORTER Patience is a virtue. And two years after the City of Castlegar issued a confidential study, another couple of days shouldn’t matter to see what was in it. The secret Price, Water- house report, a taxpayer- funded study examining the city’s overall efficiency, should be ready for public consumption by the end of the week. Murray Rankin had originally hoped to have the report ready for Tues- ’s council meet- said that although wasn’t as Rankin was a key advi- sor to the government’s new Free- dom of In- formation and Priva- cy Act. Rankin will use the provincial Kirk Duff act as a ——————-. guideline to determine what infor- mation taxpayers have a right to know about in the $24,000 study. The city agreed Aug. 5 to hand the study over to Rankin. At the same time, council agreed to be bound by his recommendations. The move marks the first time in B.C. history the act has been applied to a municipality. Councillor Kirk Duff, who originally asked coun- cil to release the report, has confidence in Rankin, “He has no strings at- tached,” Duff said. “Jt will be a good, independent re- view.” satisfied with Canada Post services. Conducted by an independent research ce. , the survey looked at 27 communities be- The Crown corporation issued a package to ing served by postal outlets, including Rob- Castlegar city council Tuesday, saying 94 per = 80”. NEWS STAFF Canada Post is standing behind wicket ser- vii Neil Rachynski NEWS REPORTER There will not be any lay- offs at Pope and Talbot’s Castlegar operations. Contrary to local radio re- ports aired Tuesday, sawmill workers have nothing to fear. “(The radio reports) are a bunch of hooey,” resident man- ager Bob Coutts said. “Down in Grand Forks, (Castlegar’s sister) radio sta- tion gets quarterly reports from the company, and they go ahead and broadcast this stuff without talking to anyone or doing any research whatsoev- er,” Coutts said. Coutts says the changes outlined in Pope and Talbot’s quarterly report only deal ARROW LAKE with the company’s operations in the United States. “(The company) consolidat- ed two plants and made some changes at head office,” Coutts said, “It’s no big surprise, I’ve known about the changes for the past three weeks. It has absolutely nothing to do with Castlegar.” Coutts says he never actu- ally heard the radio reports, but when he got to work later Tuesday morning he certain- ly heard about them. He says he was inundated by ques- tions from concerned employ- ees at the local sawmill. The radio station later re- tracted the story Tuesday. cent of Canadians surveyed were satisfied with retail postal outlets. Some 76 per cent of those went as far as to state they were very The survey consisted of 807 cross-Canada interviews. It did not say how many Robson residents were contacted. Required Immediately For Routes By Broadwater/McDiarmid/Foxlee Robson lf interested call 365-7266 ask for Mary Ann REPLACEMENT - CARRIER ELEVATION 1411.84 ft. on Aug. 14 Forecast of Elevation 1411.5 ft. on August 22 [ ee | Bluetop Burger WGA TPN SEA BURGER & FRIES Golden breaded cod with tartar sauce, 7 5 lettuce, and tomato, served with home made fries . All Our Prices Include the G.S.T. Now open til 9 p.m. 1521 Columbia Ave. 365-8388 Call Ahead Drive Through Service The Most Famous Basket in the World THIS 1S, A VWelameWigon. COMMUNITY Let us welcome you! Phone 365-2455 (P22 Summer Gas Picnic Paks "The Perfect Meal for Fun in the Sun" 365-5304 2816 Columbia Ave. For a holiday consolidation loan or a back to school loan come to Castlegar Savings Credit Union. We offer competitive rates. CASTLEGAR SAVINGS CREDIT UNION “Your Community Financial Centre” aS 601-18th St. Castlegar 365-3368 3026 Hwy. 3 Slocan Park 226-7216 Buy one pair, get the second pair J ea n Ss by Buffalo, Ikeda, Santana, Bugle Boy, Request, Gasoline, Manager, Big Blue. 1 /2 * s Price (*Second pair of equal or lesser value.) IKEDA BLACK OVERALLS & ALL SHORTALLS JUMP SWEATERS 1/ 2 Price 1/2 Price 359 Columbia Ave Castlegar 365-7589