216 din Thciacees Gh dota oe a Saturday, October 10, 1992 @ To Steve Bozek, somewhere in Italy Dear Steve: Hi, how are things in Italy? Things are pretty good here in The ’Gar. For the longest time I have been waiting for the telephone to ring again, a follow up to the conversation you and I had after the San Jose Sharks bought out your contract in late July. I remember that quite well, in fact it was in the July 25 issue of the Van- couver Sun I read that the Sharks were letting you go. Knowing how you have roots in Castlegar, I thought it would be a good idea to let the people here know what your next move would be. So, doing what comes naturally to us sports writers, I got on the horn and made some calls to California to track you down and see what the next chap- ter in the book of your life would have to say. Well, you weren't around so! left a message on your answering machine and went looking for San Jose’s side of the story. Calling a team that had just done something as difficult as telling a play- er he was no longer needed, I figured they wouldn’t be willing to say very much. I thought they might end up feed- ing me the traditional “We can't really comment on that right now” or put me through to someone who had a nasty habit or returning phone calls the next fiscal year. Boy was I wrong. Director of hockey operations Steve Lombardi was more than willing to help me out as to why you would no longer be wearing the black, white and teal of California’s newest sports franchise. Citing the fact that the Sharks were a team overloaded with aging veterans last season, Lombardi said for them to move up in the Smythe Di- vision they would have to go with the youth movement. “We were a lot older than we want- ed to be,” he said. “There’s no question Stevie was a valuable contributor to us last year, but we had to get younger. “The only way we can win is if we nurture the kids.” Having heard that, and a whole lot more, it was time to get back to you. After all, I had one side to the sto- ry and your side would have made it complete. Well, you got back to me soon after, but really weren't too willing to talk at that point. You said something about having to figure out where you would be head- ing next and, after deciding on that, you would get back to me. I could appreciate that. After all, if ajob I'd had for 10 years in five differ- ent North American cities suddenly ceased to exist, I'd need some time to think myself. Shortly after, I went on holidays and left it up to the substitute sports JonathanGREEN department to keep an eye on the sit- uation. But something wasn’t right. It seems that they were able to find you, or at least your answering ma- chine, but you never called back. Granted, you might have been away as long as I was and only picked up the messages some time later. Over the course of the next few weeks, we talked on a couple of occa- sions but it was always. the same sto- ry about how you were still planning your next move. By that time, I was starting to think that maybe you weren’t really going to phone me and that this bit about being unsure about what would happen next was just an excuse. Thad heard from other people about how you were looking at returning to school, or how you were thinking of go- ing back to Vancouver. Well, we talked again and once more it was the same old story, except this time you mentioned something like talking to some teams in Switzer- land about playing there. Finally, we were getting some- where. It had taken close to two months, but I could sense a break- through. Boy was I wrong. Again. I found out this week that you high- tailed it to Italy two weeks ago, yet I don’t recall getting that phone call I was waiting for. Now, we here at The News get an awful lot of phone calls, and it is pos- sible that one could have got lost in the shuffle. But I’m sure that a call I’ve been waiting for as long as yours would be- come a priority, even if I was on an- other call. Geez, I'd even have hung up on my folks. Now I’m just left here to wonder if my suspicions were correct, or that you were in so much of a hurry you weren't able to find a phone. One of the guys here suggested that you didn’t feel like talking because the worst team in the NHL had decided you were no longer needed. Either way, I just wanted to say thanks for letting me know what's go- ing on. Arrivederci. i CODb 6:1 sadntol) .vatrund @ Saturday, October 10, 1992 Tomlin ready for action Wi CRHL president takes a look at the season ahead NEWS STAFF Rec hockey is back for an- other season in the Crossroads of the Kootenays. The Castlegar Recereation- al Hockey League season got underway Tuesday with Woodland Park Shell bounc- ing Banjo’s Pub 8-4. CRHL president Robin Tomlin said he’s looking for- ward to the season ahead, and already has some ideas in mind. He acknowledged that hockey can be a pretty intense game, but would like the penalty totals to decrease from Competitive volleyball circuit hits Selkirk Shell draws first blood in CRHL season opener NEWS STAFF Volleyball players looking for the chance to relive their glory days in high school or college have had their wish come true. Under the direction of Selkirk College men’s coach Mike Perra, the six-team Re- gional Super-Volley Challenge has been born with players ranging in age from 18-40. Complete with a mission statement and a set of goals and objectives, the league was assembled to give players in the area an opportunity to en- gage in competitve volleyball. Perra said with players competing who have seen ac- tion on championship teams, the calibre of play will be im- pressive. “The Selkirk College mens team are going to struggle just to finish third and they’re sup- posd to be a pretty serious team,” he said. “Each team will have four to six guys that are high calibre players.” Perra said the league will follow the basic rules and reg- ulations of volleyball, making . small changes here and there. He said that one change they will make is a * increasing Mike Perra the num- ———————— ber of sub- stitutions each team can make per game. “The idea is that more peo- ple can play,” he said. With the success area schools are enjoying in volley- ball, Perra said the sport’s popularity is increasing. “The more people play and the more they learn, the more enjoyable it becomes,” he said. “The indication we’re getting from kids in school is they’re enjoying volleyball more and more.” And with interest growing in the younger crowd, Perra said he would like that to spread to the older crowd. To do that, the league is opening its doors to the gener- al public, with action getting underway Tuesday, and run- ning each Monday after that until the Dec.7 final. Perra said the feature match each evening would be geared toward 7:30 p.m., giv- ing people the chance to see some good volleyball. “If people want to come out, they know they'll have a solid match at that time.” Action gets underway Tues- day at 6 p.m. at the college. THE KIDS ARE THERE. DRIVE WITH CARE! Pe YOUR LOCAL POLICE NEWS STAFF Hockey season officially started on a couple of fronts Tuesday night. While most eyes were on the National Hockey League’s first games, some were on the Community Complex. In the Castlegar Recre- ational Hockey League season opener, Doug Knowler scored three goals and Clay Martini had five points in Woodland Park Shell’s 8-4 win over Ban- jo’s Pub. Kelly Keraiff added a goal and three assists for the win- ners, while Rick Cutler had three points for the pub. Trailing 2-1 after the first, Shell kept Banjo’s off the scoreboard in the second and took a 4-2 lead on goals by Martini, Knowler and Grant Pilla. But that lead was short lived, as Cutler scored his sec- ond of the game early in the third and Ian Stewart added another less than a minute later to tie it at four. Unwilling to leave it at that, Martini put Shell back in front with his second of the game with just under 13 min- utes left and the fat lady at her feet. Knowler with a pair and Ni- ki Hyson rounded out the scor- ing as Shell handed Banjo’s the season’s first loss. Results of Thursday's game between Castlegar Sports and Pressure Wash were unavail- able at press time. ATHLETE OF THE WEEK 7 id i LEE MALINEK Of the Stanley Humphries Senior Boys Volleyball Team. Named to the first all-star team at a University of British Columbia tournament last weekend. By CASTLEGAR SPORTS CENTRE informed Competant Professional Service « Hockey Equipment * Skate Sharpening (FIGURE AND HOCKEY) « NHL Replica Jerseys « Used Skates 365-8288 2177 Columbia Ave., Castlegar Castle Bowl goes hi-tech NEWS STAFF Local bowlers are in for a bit of a surprise the next time they drop by for a couple games at Castle Bowl. Getting away from the old school of manual scoring, owner Roland Handley has gone a step further with au- tomatic scoring. “Its completely computer- ized,” he said. “It’s the first of its kind in the East or West Kootenay.” Handley said he’s still get- ting the bugs out of his sys- tem, and was hard at work breaking in unfamiliar league bowlers Wednesday night. “We've been kind of swamped trying to get every- thing going,” he said. “It’s been a little hectic here. “We're just getting it set up.” Moving away from pens, paper and writers cramp from keeping track of all the scoring, Handley said he went electronic to avoid scor- ing headaches. “More for convenience than anything,” he said. “A lot of people coming in don”t know how to keep score.” Unlike the old days when acalculator might have been needed when the scores were up into the hundreds, Hand- ley said the new system makes a simple game even simpler. “You throw your three balls and sit down,”he said. “It works out pretty slick.” So with the scoring headaches taken care of and little visuals like turkeys for three strikes in a row, Hand- ley says local bowlers are em- bracing the new system. “They seem to be really enjoying it.” last year. “It gets a little heated on the ice, but that’s the type of game hockey is,” he said. “I'd like to see a little more disci- pline on the ice from some of the players.” Tomlin said that despite the fact the CRHL is local, it boasts some half dozen play- ers who've seen the bright lights of the NHL. And because of that, fans who come out to watch will be entertained. “There’s some balanced tal- ent out there,” he said. “I could take an all-star team out of this league and compete with anyone around here. “It’s good hockey.” DINNER SPECIALS NIGHTLY $9.95 “British Night" Prime Rib with Yorkshire Pudding, Vegetable, Potato and English Triffle for desert $9.95 Reservation Appreciated Lunch Specials Tues.-Sat. Choose from 3 different melts, includes Caesar or green salad. 646 Baker St. Nelson 352-5358 For OPENESS Vote Castlegar Savings Credit Union is able to assist you with getting the best return for your investment dollars. For more details, contact either location of CASTLEGAR SAVINGS CREDIT UNION “Your Community Financial Centre” 601-18th St. cs 3026 Hwy. 6 Castlegar Slocan Park 365-7232 226-7212 FREE EMPLOYMENT-WANTED CLASSIFIEDS. FREE FREE FREE FREE FREE FREE FREE FREE FREE FREE Heather Hadley Classified Manager ittle help friends. Today your main concern is taking care of your family. Feeding them. Clothing them. Putting a roof over their heads. To do that, you need a job . And these days jobs can be a little hard to come by. So your friends at the Castlegar News want to give you a little help. Now you can run your own ~employment-wanted' ads free. Because if we help you to get an even break, you'll do the rest. That's the job of any community newspaper. So that's our job here at your community newspaper, the Castlegar News ... 365-7266 / e if eh a [inn CASTLEARR