eA2 Saturday, October 5, 1991 @ CAMPAIGN NOTEBOOK Nor "91 xX D’Arcy supporter has unique idea Iris Bakken, the Salmo Socred who has itched allegi for this ign to independent candidate Chris D’Arcy, has an idea she says might snare a few more votes for him. “I could adopt him. Then his name would be first on the ballot. Maybe he’d get afew more votes,” Bakken joked Thurs- y- Bakken, well known across B.C. for her staunch support of former premier Bill Vander Zalm, was responding to a com- ment made by News columnist Ron Norman last Saturday. Referring to D’Arcy, who served as the riding’s New Democrat MLA for 19 years, and how the votes might line up, Norman said: “And some New Democrats will see his name [D’Arcy] on the ballot and mistake him for the NDP candidate (proba- bly about the same number who will vote for Conroy be- cause his name is first on the ballot).”S Siemens says timber to stay Socred candidate Walter Siemens says he’s received as- surances from Forests Minister Claude Richmond that tim- ber from tree farm licence 23 will “remain to the benefit of this area.” “None of the timber will be allowed to leave the area,” Siemens quotes Richmond as saying. Westar Group Ltd. announced earlier this year it is sell- ing all of its timber assets, including the Castlegar sawmill. Westar holds the licence to TFL 23 and Castlegar city coun- cil, among others, has raised concerns the tree farm will be split up as a result of the sale, meaning a loss of timber and the threat of closure of the Castlegar mill. Siemens called Richmond’s statement “a most important position for the ongoing health of Westar and the industry at large.” NDP candidate skeptical of position Nelson-Creston NDP candidate Corky Evans said he’s “delighted” Social Credit candidate Howard Dirks acknowledge the importance in land use planning of “coop- . eration, good will and participation by all Iris Bakken groups. However, he added that in light of So- cred “rhetoric” which calls environmental groups “terrorists” he feels skeptical of Dirks’ new position. “Social Credit has come up with more new policies in the past week than they have in the past 10 years,” Evans said in anews release. I can't help wondering about the timing of it all.” Evans said land use issues can only be solved through to-fe iation, based on a lete i -y of all Corky Evans f resources of an area. “In my experience, the people with a direct interest, in- cluding the employees of the government ministries, are willing to talk. All that has been lacking has been the politi- cal will.” Rotary sponsors forum The Rossland Rotary Club is sponsoring an all-candi- dates forum at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 9 in the ballroom of the Up- lander Hotel. All did: for the incial election will Barbara Tandory SPECIAL TO THE NEWS Political science, a recent addition to the curriculum at Selkirk College, is enjoyi great popularity on and off the campus. Taught by Andy Shadrack, the course is the only Selkirk offering to be televised and carried by the Knowledge Net- PoliSci course id. Although he never entered, the political arena as a candi- proves popular se 4 “[ think Andy’s curriculum is structured around very top- ical subjects so that he’s deliv- ering political science in the context of current events,” Lintz said. During the recent Persian Gulf crisis, for example, Shadrack demonstrated his iti by speaking out date, he b work far beyond the college’s regional boundaries. Since it’s been picked up by the satellite, political science 112 is broadcast as far north as the Yukon and the North- west Territories and as far south as San Francisco. The program reaches all of west- ern Canada and parts of west- ern Ontario, and the U.S. Northwest. Shadrack, who is teaching the televised course at Selkirk for the third year now, said his class rose to 42 this fall from 26 last semester. Shadrack says the number of students in this year’s class is “quite high” but notes there in nm par y politics in his early teens. Before joining the faculty at Selkirk, Shadrack taught at University of Regina. This fall, Shadrack is trying against the armed conflict and wore a black arm band in protest until the cease fire. Selkirk is contributing the political science course to the Knowledge Network through its bership in the Small to bring ina tional committee to Castlegar in November but has not yet had any confirmation. Selkirk College information officer Joe Lintz said the col- lege has taken notice of rising demand for the course this Make your move. @ PaRncPpacnon has been a gi l enrolment in social “I like to see my students participate in class discus- sions,” he said, noting this method lends itself better to learning, as well as being of greater personal interest to students. The course, called the Poli- tics of Canadian Government, includes, aside from lectures and class discussions, guest appearances by local politi- cians in the weekly class held ® LEGION BRANCH 170 Fri & Sat. * Noon - 1 am. 365-7017 pene a GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS POLITICAL TRIVIA Who assisted the Castlegar & District Aquatic Centre with their Lotto B.C. grant? WALTER SIEMENS ing be present and this will offer a fair and honest h of ideas and points of view for all in attendance, both candi- dates and audience alike, the club said in a news release. Sponsored by Young Socreds IEMENS, waiter a. ARROW LAKE ELEVATION 1442.91 ft. on Oct. 5 Forecast of Elevation 1442.25 ft. by Oct. 12 College Consortium. The class is filmed by the Selkirk audio-visual depart- ment, and televised Tuesday nights at half past midnight on the Knowledge Network channel. Bluetop MUSHROOM CHEESE DELUXE & FRIES AN beet patty wih fied All Our Prices include the G.S.T. NEW HOURS OCT. 1- 10 a.m.8 p.m. 1521 Columbia Ave. 365-8388 Call Ahead Drive Through Service NEW HOURS: Mon.-Fri. - . RESTAURANT/) "FOOD DONE THE HOMESTYLE Way” ALL MAJOR CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED TRAIL 368-3115 Kline Building, Bay Ave. (Next to Bank of Montreal) 1004 Columbia ¢ Ph. 365-8155 7 p.m. Sat. - 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Closed Sundays & Holidays EF STAR LGA F Chris D'Arcy ...a strong independent voice for the Kootenays. For more information or to get involved, call: CASTLEGAR 365-3734 Monashee (2nd Storey, scross from Mohawk) Bidg., Columbia Ave. “We have organized forums in the past for civic 1 and they have always proved popular,” club president Bill Russell said. Clarification The Castlegar and District Teachers Association’s all- candidates forum next week is for teachers only and is not open to the public, spokesman Bill ‘said. Social Credit candidate Walter Siemens has now told the association he will attend the forum. ty, October 5, 1991 SecondFRONT : HOWLING SUCCESS BRIEF STOPOVER ae News photo by Thomas Bink Joe Irving of Castlegar greets NDP Leader Mike Harcourt at Castlegar Airport during his brief stopover. Abortion debated @ Rossland-Trail candidates tackle controversial subject at Selkirk College forum Thomas Bink NEWS REPORTER The abortion issue hit home Thursday when NDP Rossland-Trail candidate Ed The City of Castlegar has almost doubled the amount of fees it receives for dog licences so far this year. The animal control report for August, which council must still receive officially at the next council meeting, contains the following stats (last year's figures in parentheses): Conroy was asked to justify his party’s pro-choice stance at an all-candidates forum at Selkirk College. “It’s a woman's right to choose,” Conroy said, “and it’s between a woman and her doctor. It’s that simple.” Conroy, along with fellow Rossland-Trail candidates An- gela Price, Walter Siemens and Chris D’Arcy, were joined by Nelson-Creston Socred MLA Howard Dirks and An- drea Wright of the Green par- ty to discuss abortion, educa- tion and native land rights at the college. Provincial NDP leader Mike Harcourt has been ha- rassed by anti-abortion protesters throughout his campaign. “Bill Vander Zalm did ev- erything he could to deny women the right to make their own choice on abortion,” Harcourt said in a campaign flyer, “and Rita Johnston said nothing. That's just not ac- ceptable.” D'Arcy, who is running as an independent, and Socred candidate Siemens said they oppose abortion clinics and abortions because of a fetus’s sex. “I, as an individual, find the thought ofa fetus being abort- ed frightening and reprehen- sible,” D'Arcy said. He added that using tax- payers’ money to build abor- tion clinics to compete with al- ready established medical clinics in the province would be a waste of money. Siemens i “We (the Socred govern- ment) don't fund clinics of any kind,” he said. He said the idea of aborting a fetus because of its sex is “totally abhorrent.” Price was less adamant about the issue. “We do respect life, but we do respect getting individuals proper health care when neces- sary,” she said. Wright said the party oppos- es abortion legislation. “The abortion issue should be taken out of the hands of government totally,” she said. Also discussed at the forum that education is a pri- ority, but disagreed on how much funding is needed and where the money might come from. Siemens said there has been an increase in education- al funding under the Socred government. “The finances have been well handled,” he said. “There has been a 40 per cent increase in per-pupil spending over the last four years.” right to choose and it’s between a woman and her doctor. It’s that simple.” “1, as an individu- al, find the thought of a fetus being aborted frightening and reprehensible.” — Chris D’Arcy, independent “We (the Socred government) don’t fund clinics of any kind.” — Walter Siemens, “We do respect life, but we do re- spect getting indi- viduals proper health care when ” “It’s a woman’s Power becomes issue @ Downstream benefits from Columbia River Treaty dams could be financial windfall for Kootenays News Staff NDP candidate Ed Conroy says the decision of what to do with the electricity generated under the current Columbia River Treaty will come from community forums if the New Democrats form the next provincial government. “We need to see what the needs of the community are,” Conroy said. “We won't allow anything done behind closed doors. That's how we got a bad deal in the first place.” Conroy was responding to Nel- son-Creston MLA Howard Dirks’ comment that selling the electric- ity would give the Kootenays a fi- nancial boost. The B.C. government an- nounced last year that it won't continue to sell electifcity to its U.S. customers when the treaty begins to expire in 1998. The so-called downstream ben- efits, estimated to be worth about $350 million a year, were-sold in 1964 to the United States. The sales agreements expire between 1998 and 2003. “When those downstream ben- efits revert back, I just want to be sure that this region, which was effected by the dams, gets a por- tion of it,” Dirks said. The electricity generated under the treaty is more valuable then the cash that may result from ne- gotiating new sales contracts when the treaty expires, said Rossland-Trail- MLA Chris D’Ar- cy, who is running as an indepen- dent in the Oct. 17 election. “It would benefit B.C. far more to keep the value of the electricity in the province,” he said. Social Credit backbencher Grace McCarthy said earlier this year that the moneygained from selling the benefits could help set up a fund for post-secondary edu- cation across the province. “It would be tragic to make the same mistake in 2001,” D’Arcy said. He said B.C. Hydro already owes the area money because of unfair property taxes and unpaid water revenue. Rossland-Trail Social Credit candidate Walter Siemens said if there is no need for the electricity in the area, the power should be sold. “We control them, so why shouldn't we sell them?” Siemens said. “As long as some of the mon- ey comes back here, I don't see a problem with that.” Green party candidate Angela Price said the Green party has a policy against exporting hydro- electric power from the province.