Saturday, May 9, 1992 & Glen Freeman NEWS REPORTER rn B.C. doctors are back on the job after attending a study ses- sion in Vancouver last Thursday. The meeting was in response to Bills 13 and 14, which okt see doctors salaries limited and their pension plan re- voked. “I thought the meeting was superb,” said Castlegar doc- tor Margaret MacIntyre. : “Tt was an inspiring day. It gave me confidence that physi- cians are united in indignation over the governments move and are not willing to let these bills pass.” Macintyre said that if the NDP government has its way, the future of B.C.’s health care will be in doubt. MacIntyre feels patients will have to wai longer to see spe- cialists, and that doctors and patients in isolated rural ar- eas would suffer. “Those points are important in themselves .” she said, “but that’s not all. “With Bill 13, the government has unilaterally taken away our right to negotiate. Anyone would be upset if that hap- pened to them.” MacIntyre added that Bill 14 was bargained for in good faith by a previous government, and that simply breaking that contract would set a bad precedent. Spokespeople for the Minister of Health were unavailable for comment. HEU awaits Munroe report @ Special conciliator will issue report to Labor Minister Moe Sihota Friday Glen Freeman NEWS REPORTER Don Munroe’s deadline is fast approaching. Munroe, a special conciliator for the Hospi- tal Employees’ Union-Health Labor Relations Association dispute, has been given until Fri- day to hand a report to Labor Minister Moe Si- hota. “Tt’s not like an arbitrated settlement where he comes out with a binding contract,” said HLRA spokesman Martin Livingston. “fe will make a proposal which both sides can vote on and turn down if they wish.” But the course the government has chosen to take does not sit well with the HEU. “Our people don’t think anything is going to happen,” local chair Jean Weir said. ~ “They (the NDP government) should give us what they promised when they were cam- paigning.” 4 Weir went on to say that the HLRA is de- ceiving the public when they say the HEU has been offered what the Nurses’ Union has al- ready accepted, saying that “3.5 per cent of $21 is a lot more than 3.5 per cent of $14.12, which is what one of our unions practical nurses makes.” Weir added that her union is not going to ac- cept a poor settlement because it’s what the government wants. “We may just have to hit the bricks again be- cause of how the government has handled this,” she said. “We're not too happy right now.” Selkirk College grows green NEWS STAFF Selkirk College is getting some green to stay green. The college has been grant- ed $50,000 over the next five years to improve forest poten- tial on its Castlegar campus. The grant is part of the For- The task of obtaining the grant was undertaken by Dak Giles, instructional assistant in the Renewable Resources Department. “My proposal was to devel- op and implement a plan that would reflect past ecosystems For 26 years, the 67 hectare property at the local campus has been used to conduct ex- periments in forestry and wildlife management. The first stage of the pro- gram will see the hiring of stu- dents to study past work, with B.C. hands out more cash for summer jobs @ More money doesn’t mean more job for Castlegar’s students Glen Freeman NEWS REPORTER The tourism industry in B.C. is getting its yearly cash fix. The provincial government has announced that addition- al funding has been made available for student summer employment . About $1.6 million has been provided by the Ministry of - Advanced/Education to subsi- dize student summer wages in the tourism industry. “As long as the kids are re- turning to school in the fall, that’s the criteria,” said Castlegar and District Cham- ber of Commerce Manager Rene Read. “The Chamber couldn’t-af- ford to hire the four students we have now without govern- ment funding.” Read added that four is the minimum number of students necessary to keep the Castle- gar and area tourism industry alive. “We're managing the way we are, but sure it would be nice to staff more students.” However, Read wasn’t sure the announcement from the ministry was earth shatter- ing. ‘ “Well, we get provincial funding every year,” she said. “I’m not sure if this means we'll be getting more money, but that would be nice.” According to the ministry’s public affairs manager Alan Strickland, this means Castle- gar will not be getting more money. “It’s about the same amount as last year,” Strick- land said, adding that his gov- ernment’s hand were tied by fiscal restraints. “But we are putting as much money in to this as pos- sible,” he said. “An investment in students is always a good investment.” 23,160 people died in B.C. in 1990 ... 360 were comea donors, 53 were solid organ donors ... consider organ & tissue donation. A A Ppa Transplant Society est Resource Development foundon the college site before - the development ofa database Agency’s Small Scale Forestry @ny settlementinthearea,”he and map system for tracking Program initiative. stated. experiments to follow. If your vehicle is pictured here, drop by the Castlegar News to pick up your $20 CasBucks, which you can spend at any participating merchant. The CASTLEGAR td) Saturday, May 9, 1992 AroundTOWN _ Our People Glen Freeman 365-7266 A TAIL The Selkirk Weavers’ and’ Spinners’ Guild will be | demonstrating ~~ * their craft every Wednesday and Sunday from 11 am to 3 pm all summer long at the Doukhobor Museum, across from the airport. Regular guild meetings will be put on hold during summer months. MAY I SEE YOUR LICENSE Provincial police, including Castlegar RCMP, are sharpening their ticket-writing penciis for the first of three 1992 enforcement campaigns aimed against speeders. The campaign, which runs from May 13 to 19, is designed to deliver the message “Stop speeding before it stops you.” OurPEOPLE Outstanding Field Trt Lesley Tarasoff, winner of a Smokey doll. John Askew, above, gives a Brent Kennedy Elementary School student a computer lesson, while Smokey the Bear congratulates SMOKEY Elementary school kids got a break from normal classroom activities as they flocked to the Arrow Forest District office this week. “This is a part of National Forest Week,” said district planner Ted Evans. “The idea is to j increase awareness and appreciation for forests in our country.” And it was mission accomplished. After an hour-and- a-half hands-on lesson, it was obvious that these kids had a good time and learned to value British Columbia’s largest renewable resource. News photos by Glen Freeman Jasmin Mustonen, 10, studies a seedling soon to be planted (above). Below, Mark Towbridge hits the spot on a hot day, with Peter O’Brien lending a helping hand. i