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Fie, 86,

The Castiegar Syn

Wednesday, February 12, 1992

MCE IN

Castlegar likes: Summers

| What you do there: Drives shuttle bus at Celgar

Bost kept Cestiegar secret: My fishing holes

econd agreemen
reached in Emcon
labour dispute

BRENDAN HALPER
Sun staff

19, due to a labor dispute with the
contractor, Emcon. Minimum

Another tentative agreement
was reached last Thursday
Emcon Highway Services

and its hi maintenance staff.
British Columbia Government
Employees Union (BCGEU)
Regional Coordinator Jeff Fox,

Services were provided
for the duration of the five-day
strike, throughout the affected
contract areas.

The initial tentative agreement
was reached on January 25, with
the help of mediator, Vince
Ready. However, the contract

‘Everything on the highways is
Presently back to normal.’

— ELIAH FARRELL
Public Information officer

Gigims the bargaining committee
is strongly recommending accep-
tance of the new contract.

The ratification process will
commence today, according to
Fox, and will be finished by Sun-
day, February 16. The BCGEU
will be issuing a press release the
following morning, providing a
summary of the results.

Members of the BCGEU first
served strike notice on January

= Support

was overwhelmingly rejected
during ratification votes in all
affected regions. Job action was
taken for a 24-hour period start-
ing February 11, affecting only
certain maintenance yards
throughout the contract areas.

“Everything on the highways
is presently back to normal,” said
Ministry of Transportation and
Highways Public Information
Officer Eliah Farrell.

Continued from 1A
Jim Laktin, a financial planner
with the Investors Group in Castle-

stoke,” Stan said.
Castlegar Mayor Audrey Moore
said that the sale of the sawmill

gar, spoke about the several hun~__. and TFL to Pope & Talbot is an all

dred clients they have who were
either direct employees of Westar
or related industries in the area.

“There are several people here
that are in serious financial diffi-
culties. As a concerned. citizen in
Support of the sale, let's deal with
the people and the jobs and the
mortgages and the bills that are in
this town now, as opposed to some
potential, somewhere down the
road for some proposal in Revel-
stoke,” Laktin said.

Harry Stan, an executive direc-
tor for the Castlegar and District
Development Board reiterated the
need for a speedy decision by the

“Castlegar's economy is a
resource-based one, it does not
‘have as great an opportunity to
diversify its economic base as do

Ye ee ee

hee kik eee

Or nothing situation.

“Either an adequate supply of
saw logs is assured to the Castle-
gar sawmill, or it won't operate—
that is not an acceptable outcome
for this community.”

Also present at the meeting
were MLA's Ed Conroy, Corky
Evans and Shuswap MLA Shan-
non O'Neill.

Paul Ramsey, MLA for Prince
George North, also acted as Parlia-
mentary Secretariate to the Minis-
ter for the evening.

Ramsey says that all submis-
sions to Minister of Forests must
be completed by March 6, and 4
decision should be made by the end
of the month.

Public hearings are set to take
Place in Nakusp on Feb. 12, Revel-
stoke on February 13 and Sica-
mous on Feb. 14.

Sun staff

On February 7 it was
announced by British Columbia's
Minister of Government Services
Lois Boone and Rossland/Trail
MLA Ed Conroy, that the Castle-
gar Selkirk Lions will be receiv-
ing $24,787 in GO B.C. funding
to help purchase a wheel-chair
accessible bus for the Intermedi-
ate and Extended Care Wing of
the Castlegar and District Hospi-
tat:

As Minister responsible for the
GO B.C. Program, Boone said it
is encouraging to be able to sup-
Port this kind of worthwhile pro-
ject.

“The vehicle will provide a
vital therapeutic link with the
community-at-large for the 50
residents of this newly-opened
facility.”

Conroy said, “I commend the
Selkirk Lions for their major ini-
tiative in spearheading the
fundraising campaign for this 14-
Passenger vehicle—the bus will
be well used.”

GO B.C. is a provincial gov-
emment capital funding program
which uses the proceeds from
lotteries to assist a wide range of
community initiatives.

The approval of the grant puts
the Lions much closer to achiev-
ing their goal. According to
Lions member Mark Zurek, they

Selkirk Lions ‘receive long-awai

club hopes to order a bus by thé™

end of February, and raise the

remaining fuhds during the three-
four month period over which the

‘SUN STAFF PHOTO / Brendan Halper

bus will be manufactured.
08

Counselling offered to Cominco
workers receiving layoff notices

TRAIL TIMES

An employee resource centre
offering job searches and coun-
selling will be open in Trail to
help workers deal with mass
Cominco layoffs.

Cominco issued 321- layoff
notices Thursday to members of
United Steelworkers Locals 480
and 9705 in a further step in the
workplace restructuring
announced Jan. 16.

Sixteen-week layott notices at
Comingo’s Trail operations wee
given to 281 production and
maintenance workers of Local
480 and 40 office and technical
Personnel of Local 9705

Cominco public relations offi-
cer Richard Fish said these lay-
offs, when combined with
reductions initiated during Jan-
uary and retir¢ments within all

groups at Trail operations, will
result in approximately 460 fewer
total jobs by this June. Restruc-
turing of the ‘Trail operations is
aimed at reducing costs by $50
million annually.

A®™ week ago, Cominco
announced 110 management
Positions were being cut in a
restructuring involving reducing
the layers of management from
five or six to three. To achieve
this, the maintenance and ope rit
tions functions wilh be combined
ito new, more self-sufficient
business groupings

In a breakdown of job reduc
ions, approximately 25 per cent
of management jobs and approxi
mately 15 per cent of Local 480
and 9705 jobs have been elimi-
nated. Forty-seven of the man-
agers affected have been accepted
back into the Local 480 bargain-

ing unit, Local 480 president
Doug Swanson confirmed Thurs-
day, another 20-30 will receive
“enhanced early retirement” and
the remainder will receive sever-
ance packages.

An enhanced early retirement
option has also been developed
for members of Locab'480 to
reduce the number of actual lay-
offs. Wednesday Local 480 mem-
bers voted 90 per cent in favor of
accepting an early retirement

a ge which makes workers
aged 58 with 30 years service eli-
gible to retire with full pension
plus a $20,000 bonus and workers
aged 55 with 25 years service to
retire on a reduced pension with
the bonus or on full pension with
the cash. Workers severed Thurs-
day with less than five years ser-
vice will receive $2,000 in lieu of
accumulated pension benefits.

In anticipation of the
announcement, Swanson said
Thursday moming that he hoped
some of the layoffs would even-
tually be rescinded.

A Cominco press release
Thursday stated discussions are
continuing with Local 9705 about
an early retirement option that
could reduce the number of actual
layoffs in thar Local

Local 9705 president Jim
Saare said this morning that the
union’s membership met Thurs-
day evening and voted.1o accept
a pension window on the same
terms as Local 480. Local 9705
will also allow five affected
managers to return to the bar-
gaining unit under the defined
terms that there are vacancies
created by retirement, death or
severance. This option is avail-
able until Dec. 31.

Trail business and community
leaders set future directions

TRAIL TIMES

Faced with the repercussions
of almost 500 layoffs from
Cominco, business and commu-
nity leaders this week finalized a
Proposed direction for the future
development of the Trail-Ross-
land-Beaver Valley area.

The community leaders met
Tuesday to review discussions
which took place Nov. 19 and 21
with regard to setting a direction
for the Greater Trail area to pur-
sue. Local business leaders and
politicians decided to adopt a
strategy to produce a vibrant,
more high-valued type of econo-
my with a high-skilled work-
force.

The strategy, which will now
be developed into an action plan
with community input, was
reached after several months of
studying ‘success stories’ of dif-
ferent communities and trying to
find common elements. Besides
a high-skilled workforce, other
keys to developing a successful
economy were identified as
business being locally managed
and owned, yet Participating in

Man receives jail sentence for crimes comm

Fifty-two year-old Lewis
Connatty, plead guilty to three
counts of indecent assualt
against a female. in Rossland
Provincial Count on Febuary

The offences which ¢ onnatly
Plead guilty to, occured between
1961 and 1968

Although none of the offences
occured in Castlegar, the Castle-
gar RCMP did handle the case
Connatty received an 18-month
jail sentence on one count and

the global economy.

Regional District of Kootenay
Boundary chairman Doug Swan-
son, who chaired Tuesday's
community leaders’ meeting
indicated an important first step
in Greater Trail’s development
has been taken. “A commonly
held vision or direction will
form the foundation of any eco-
nomic plan. I am please that we
have accomplished this critical
step, which is the culmination of
over three months of work.”

“With the radical changes
underway in the local economy
there is a need for everyone to
pull together and prepare a well-
thoughtout plan for the contin-
ued health and prosperity of our
community,” Trail mayor Sandy
Santori added.

The planning process, which
Maureen Milne, chairperson of
the Greater Trail Community
Futures Society, said always
takes time, began with Commu-
nity Futures’ preparation of a
development plan necessary for
an application for second gener-
ation funding. It was realized,
however, that the responsibility

two additional 18-month jail
sentences to be served concur
rently.

It was recommended by the
presiding judge, that Connatty
serve the sentences at Stave
Lake Correctional Institute,
under the sexual offender pro-
gram

In addition to the jail term,
Connatty will also be placed on
three years probation to start at
the completion of his jail term,

of determining the area’s future
lay with business and municipal
leaders. Thus, each group was
called on to indicate where it
was going strategically, what its
strengths might be and what
hurdles it faced in reaching
goals.

"Senior governments are
interested in assisting us to
adjust to the economic changes;
however, it is up to us in the area
to outline what we want,” said
Ed Lawton, Fruitvale mayor and
director of the Economic Devel-
opment Commission.

Don Vockeroth, past president
of the Rossland Chamber of
Commerce, added that “there is
no question that we must find
innovative and effective strate-
gies that will result in viable
wealth generating businesses
and excellent service businesses.
I think that we are on the right
road.”

It was noted by participants in
the initial planning process that
Cominco, which moved to a
much higher-value level compa-
ny when it opened a semi-con-
ductor plant in the 1980's, is no

with restrictive provisions
ee

George Fehr, of Renata, had
his appeal dismissed on January
17. He appealed a conviction
and feceived 18 months jail sen-
tence for shooting David Bal-
abuck in the leg

The incident occured on
November 5 1989. He started
Serving his sentence on Jan-
wary 17 and on the termination
of his sentence he will placed

longer going to play the role of
driving a diversified economy
Instead, business and communi-
ty leaders will have to take the
lead.

“I am happy to see that
everyone, on behalf of their
organizations, are keen to par-
ticipate in the process which
will produce a sound develop-
ment plan,” Trail District
Chamber of Commerce presi-
dent Laurie Pettijohn said.

The next step in adopting the
Proposed direction will be to
conduct strategy planning ses-
sions with smaller groups that
have been Participating to date,
and to get the public’s input. It
was suggested this will proba-
bly occur over the next four
months.

“Hopefully all interested peo-
ple will take the Opportunity to
get involved in the process,”
Milne said. Montrose mayor
George Klit added that “all of us
in this community have a stake
in its future, consequently, our
strategic plan must be based on
the wishes of all people in our
area.”

itted in the sixties

on probation

oe

David DaCosta, 32 years-old,

of Castlegar was released on a
$10,000 bond February 10 after
being charged with one count of
sexual assault and one count of
breach of probation. DaCosta
was arrested as a result of a
complaint from a young male,
and DaCosta was on probation
at the time of the allegation.

eee

Wednesday, February 12, 1992

The Castlegar Sun

Residents contem

SHARLENE IMHOFF
Sun Editor

About one dozen local resi-
dents spent Monday evening dis-
cussing the future prosperity of

Participants also stressed the
need for a secondary resource
base in Castlegar.

Increased housing availability,
ap’ to the Pp

term viability for Cominco.
Better communication

between levels of government

was also deemed as important.
“The key to our economic

Castlegar during a ing with
ity Futures, a fed

funded organization which is

designed to improve and

imploy PP

Representatives-fromr the city,
union, health care, education, the
Chamber of Commerce, food
services, seniors and child care
discussed and provided an
assessment of the ‘general’ eco-
nomic trend in Castlegar.

Short term and long term
issues were discussed, as well as
community priorities.

Those in attendance agreed
that Castlegar's economy, which
is highly dependent on industry,
is currently stable but cautious.

‘The key to our economic success might rest on
the link between federal, provincial and
municipal goverment.’

== RICHARD MADDOCKS
Community Futures

tion infrastructure and a strong
sense of community identity
were among those listed as high
Pprioriti¢és which might make
Castlegar more appealing.
Industry still remains a num-

success might rest on the link
between federal, provincial and
municipal government,” said
Richard Maddocks, Chairperson
of Community Futures in Castle»

ber one priority h » with
residents hoping for a quick and
Positive conclusion to the Westar
sale to Pope & Talbot and long

employee Stuart Ady.

Administrator of the Kootenay Columbia Childcare
Society, Katrine Conroy,
$525.52 on behalf of the Variety Club. The money
was donated by the B.C. Auto Parts Association.
Making the presentation to Katrine is Autopart's

accepts a cheque of

SUN STAFF PHOTO / Sharlene Imhoff

Cougar carries off
resident's dog

‘Sun Staff

Castlegar RCMP and conser-
vation officers in Castlegar are
warning residents to be on the
look out for a cougar which
appeared in the 2500 block of 10
Avenue Monday.

The cougar, which conserva-
tion officers believe to be a sub-
adult, walked on to a resident's
deck near their back door, and
carried off the owner's small dog.

"I don't think there was very
much the owners of the dog
could do, by the time they saw
the cougar, it was carrying their
dog off,” said Michael Krause, a
conservation officer in Castlegar.

Officials have since been
searching for the animal, which
might very well have left for

“We attempted to hunt it with
hounds but the rain washed away
the scent,” Krause said.

The officer explained that a
cougar roaming around near an
urban area is not usual, but not
out of character, especially dur-
ing this time of year.

“Cougars don't spend the win-
ter on the top of a mountain. They
follow their food source, deer,
which are now searching for food
in the valleys,”

The officer said he could not
be sure if the cougar would be
back.

"It's really hard to say, but
small dogs are easy pickin's,” he
finished.

If residents see the cougar,

they are being asked to call the
conservation office at 365-8522.
If the sighting occurs at night,
residents are asked to call RCMP.

Police
searching for
new leads

The search for Dennis Pere-
pelkin, missing since January 16,
continued on February 3, with
RCMP divers searching the
Columbia River, in the vicinity
of the Kinnaird Bridge.

The search did not reveal any
clues related to the case. A shore
search by an RCMP helicopter
also turned up nothing. Accord-
ing to Staff Sergeant Hall, the
helicopter search continued to as
far as Northport Washington.

A possible sighting at a Burn-
aby convenience store, was elim-
inated after family members
viewed a VCR tape belonging to
the store .

“There is no other new infor-
mation,” Hall said, adding that
Perepelkin’s picture and infor-
mation have been distributed all
over British Columbia and
Alberta.

“We'll continue to run search-
es on a periodic basis,” he said.

The case will remain open
until Perepelkin is found.

ys the infe

tion and initiatives which were
Presented during Monday's
meeting and previous meetings

plate Castlegar's economic future

held throughout the central
Kootenay will be used to form
investment and employment
strategies

“These ideas will not sit on
the shelf, they will be acted on”
Maddocks said

Funding should not be a prob-
lem when acting on these ideas

WEATHER _

OUTLOOK: The forecast for
Wednesday; cloudy with a 50%
chance of flurries in the after-
noon. Highs will be near 4.

The extended forecast calls for
the mild and moist conditions to continue through to
the id. Highs will vary from 3 to 5.

Central Kootenay C y
Futures has been given approxi-
mately $600,000 every year for
the last four years from the fed-
eral government to develop self-
employment incentives and
Programs for the central Koote-
nay region.

“That is a substantial amount
of money coming into the area.”

Has spring arrived? Who knows around here.

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

7.0/3 -2.8/4

According to Madd » the
money is invested wisely.

“The survival rate of business-
es which have been established
and benefitted from this program
have a survival rate of 80 per
cent. That's money well-spent.”

Skin show a no show

ck: ____,
Sun staff

Hundreds of Selkirk Colege
students walked away disap-
pointed last Friday, after a con-
troversial forum fizzed out at the
last minute.

A discussion between male and
female strippers was to give the
conventional issue of sexism in
the work place a titillating twist.
The forum was cancelled when
the troupe of male exotic dancers
who were scheduled to participate
had their bus break down after a
performance in Whistler.

The college's student govern-
ment organized the event.

“It was going to be a tongue
in cheek sort of thing about
equality in the work place,” said
Student Association President
Jeff Leggat. “From the differ-
ences between the sexes in the
dance industry all the way up the
line of occupations.”

More than 200 students milled
around the school’s central
lounge anticipating the discus-
sion. The forum had been publi-
cized to take place during the
noon hour.

Most of the students waited
until the cancellation was
announced 45 minutes after the
scheduled time

Leggat, who was to act as
emcee, went to pick up the par-
ticipants at the hotel when he
heard the news.

“I waite r the guys to show
up,” Leggat Said. “At quarter to
twelve their agent phoned and
told us their van had broken
down by Whistler.”

The five men were part of an
act known as “Body Heat.” They
eventually made it to Castlegar
where they performed at a local
hotel on January 8.

Two female dancers were also
supposed to participate. When
word of the delay came out one
of the women backed out. The
other, Mandy Brooks, agreed to
wait until it was certain the men
could not make it. There was
some hope they would show and
the forum could reconvene later
in the afternoon.

But it became apparent the
men weren't coming and there
was no way the show could go
on.

“We decided it wouldn't be
fair for her to go up by herself,”
Leggat said.

He explained some of the top-
ics which would have been cov-
ered. A background of each of
the performers would have been
given, including how and why
they chose their profession.

Then the central issue of why
differences exist between men
and women in the business

Leggat admitted the forum's
sexy twist lightened a legitimate
topic.

“We're putting on a fun event
for students.” he said. “You
could do the same sort of thing
and it wouldn't be as sensation-
al, but students need time for
fun. It may be controversial but
having an issue added value to
it.”

Leggat said if the sole pur-
pose of the forum was educa
tional the college could put it on
by itself

In the weeks leading up to the
forum, there had been rumors
the participants would actually
‘shed their clothing.

And although that might have
attracted some of the audience,
Leggat said there was never any

plan for a skin show.

“We wanted them to dance to
show the difference in styles
between male and female but
without taking their clothes off,”
he said.

Leggat said he hopes to try
holding a similar forum when
male strippers next pass through
Castlegar in March. Female
exotic dancers are easier to find
as they perform weekly in two
of Castlegar’s four bars.

Normal Number
of Hours

17.6
REMARKS: An uneventful week. A ridge of high pres-
sure sat over the province with dry, mild conditions.
Low, stable could associated with the ridge gave prob-
lems to the aviation industry with many cancelled
flights. A system moved in from the southwest early

Saturday giving 5.2 cm. of snow which quickly melted.

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

Watershed Alliance hoping

NDP will remember promises
Members adamant that watersheds be protected

BRENDAN HALPER
Sun staff

Members of the Slocan Val-
ley Watershed Alliance (SVWA)
and the Hasty Creek Watershed
Committee (HCWC) met with
British Columbia's Minister of
Environment, Lands and Parks
John Cashore in Nelson on
February 4

Cashore

I believe the major develop-
ment is the announcement by
the government that the Hasty
Creek area was one of seven
contentious areas in the
Province that they would be
looking at to decide whether
there could be a moratorium, or
“log around" strategy to take the
pressure off and allow some
tume for their newly struck com-

v

one of his personal priorities,”
he said.

Rutkowsky said the prob-
lem the SVWA sees with revi-
sion of the water act is that
Cashore admitted he didn't
foresee the legislative
changes being in place for at
least a couple of years,
“Which is a long time when
we're looking at plans for log:
ging activities in

was touring
tio wns
throughout
the West
Kootenays
and meeting
with city
councils, rep-

‘(John Cashore) did state that revising the
water act was one of his personal priorities.’

— JIM RUTKOWSKI
SVWA member

consumptive use
watershed areas
in the Slocan Val-
ley starting next
spring and sum-
mee”

The people here
are definitely con-

resentatives
of local industry and groups
such as the SVWA.

The SVWA and HCWC are
concerned with the protection of
consumptive use watershed
areas in the Slocan Valley.

“Unfortunately, the meeting
was only half an hour long,”
said SVWA member Jim
Rutkowsky.

During the meeting, members
of the SVWA attempted to con-
vey the seriousness of their con-
cerns and make suggestions as
to how they feel the government
should resolve the issue of
watershed management.

“I believe many people voted
NDP based on their (NDP)
expression of a commitment to
involve the public more in deci-
sion making processes,”
Rutkowsky said.

= Budget __

Continued from 1A
Castlegar’s political history.

Members of the Coalition
Unaccepting Rash Bureaucracy
(CURB), have been enthusias-
tically preparing for the budget
meeting.

“We're really trying to ana-
lyze the budget right-now, even
to the point where we've
required the services of some
accounting people,” said Wal-
ter Flux, vice president of
CURB

Some members of the newly-
formed organization attended
last week's city council meet-
ing seeking answers to some
questions they had submitted
Previously.

Flux admits that the manner
in which questions were asked
to council was aggressive

“We've tried being very
polite to council when asking
questions, but we never would
get anywhere. If you don't get
aggressive, you don't get

answers.”
eee

mission on resources and envi-
ronment to fulfill its mandate.”

Government officials,
according to Rutkowsky, told
members of the SVWA that they
would be making a decision on
hasty creek before the end of
February. SVWA members are
anxious and hope that a mora-
torium will be granted.

According to Rutkowsky,
the Watershed Alliance per-
ceives a need for some deci-
sive action by the government
immediately—in the form of
policy, to protect water and
consumptive use watersheds
until legislation can be put into
place through revision of
B.C.'s water act

“He (John Cashore) did state
that revising the water act was

cerned that their
watersheds be protected in the
interim.”

While the B.C. government
has indicated that they may
announce a moratorium or a log
around strategy for Hasty
Creek, there are other consump-
tive use watersheds in the Slo-
can Valley that are also facing
development activities this sum-
mer, and the SVWA is calling
for a moratorium on such activi-
ties in all consumptive use
watershed areas throughout the
valley.

Other watersheds in questidn
include the Perry Ridge water-
shed, near Vallican , the Elliot-
Anderson to the south of the
Slocan Valley, and Bonanza
Creek near Hills, at the north

end of the Slocan Valley.
eee

WEATHER OF
JANUARY 1992

For the first three weeks a fairly mild, rather weak

flow from the southwest brought small amounts of pre-
cipitation and it was beginning to look like a well below
average month. That all changed over the last ten days
when the Pacific storm track moved inland giving copious
amounts of rain and snow along with very warm tempera-
tures. the total precipitation of 124.4 mm. broke the
record of 120.9 mm. set in 1969. All other monthly

records remain intact.

Temperature
High This
Year

6.9 24

Low -9.6 20
Precipitation
Rain
Snow
Total Precip.

69.6
55.2
124.4

Sunshine
27.2

Date

Record Day

10.0 16