. iP a2 Castlégar News March 26, 1989 morch 26,1989 Castlégar News 43 | STATION MOVED . . . Castlegar's CPR station was moved to its new home in 1987 to be: another stage in its history. Editor’s note: Guest columnist Helen Dunlop con- cludes her six-part sentimental journey through the Victor Kravski’s father worked for the CPR at Sandon and several other places in the Kootenays before coming to Castlegar, and the family spent Christmas in Farron when Victor was six years old. After spending a year at Farron, the Kravskis went to Drewry, on the Kootenay Lake near Tye, and then to Atbara, about 10 miles east of Nelson. The Kravskis first came to Castlegar in 1948, living in the old Romano Section House where the station stands now. Since the youngest daughter had reached school age they wanted to be near the school The house was owned by a man named Peterson, but he did not live there because it had neither electricity or water. After the Kravskis had these necessities put in, Peterson decided to live in it himself, so in 1950 they moved to the Robson West Section House and some years later to Kinnaird There were three section foremen working out of then, Victor said, eactr having roughly seven mites of track to took after. His father’s section ran west towards Coykendahl, Peterson had the section toward Brilliant and Nelson, and William Shkwarok, who lived in the former DeFoe Section House, covered the distan- ce from Castlegar to approximately Genelle. He was not eertain of the exact cut-off spots. Victor started to work at the Castlegar Station in the fall after graduating from high school, as assistant to Colin Fraser. The pay was not very good and the job was only part-time so he left there in 1955 and went to work for the CPR in Rossland as an operator, remaining for a number of years. He and his wife, the former Florence Cecconi, have two children and live in Castlegar. One of Castlegar's early residents was Antonio “Tony’’ DeFoe, who came from the Albert Canyon John Charters Reflections and recollections area of Rogers Pass in 1910. He was the first section foreman to be stationed in Castlegar, I learned from his granddaughter Joy Saunders, whose father was Tony’s eldest son, Ross. Tony and his wife Carmella had six other children, Florrie; Olympia, Tracey, Bill, Noah and Irene and they lived in the section house wheré Mitchell's Building Supply stands today. Irene, the youngest of the family, was born in Castlegar, but the older children were born in the Revelstoke area. In 1936, the DeFoes moved to a new home on their West Robson ranch, Joy said. Tony's health had been poor for some time and he did not live long enough to enjoy life at the ranch. He died about six months after moving té the new house, at the age of 59. Carmella lived to age 65. Of the seven brothers and sisters, two are living today — Bill, in Nelson and Irene Frederiksen in Kelowna. One of Joy’s sisters, Muriel (Mrs. Jack Hip- well) and her aunt Betty, widow of Noah DeFoe, live in Castlegar, as well as Joy (Mrs. ‘‘Brick"’ Saunders) and her family. The old station has often been the scene of happy events — students coming home for Christmas, gran- ‘parents or far-away aunts and uncles being welcomed by their families. They all had to come by train. It also witnessed sad 7 arr for in both World Wars young men left from its platform to serve their country. They were sent off by their families with pride, but also with sorrow and many were never toreturn Sometimes, when I was about nine or ten, my friends and I walked down to Castlegar from our homes up the “Milestone Road.”* That was where the Kin- naird-Christina Lake Highway takes off. We had per- mission to ride the train back to the Kinnaird Station. It was fun and only cost us about 25 cents, | think. My friends took piano lessons from a Mrs. Cook who lived in one of the houses at Waldie’s Mill, where her husband worked. We had tocross the river on the footbridge at- tached to the railway bridge, and it was ayeal adventure. Today it is still an adventure! THE DEFOES . . . Kate and Ross DeFoe (left and centre) and sister Olympia DeFoe (right) at the Castlegar Rail Station. Ross, oldest son of sectibn foreman Tony DeFoe, operated the Castlegar ferry for many years, retiring in 1965 Gt AGE 65. Proto courtesy of Joy Saunde The Kinnaird Station was a flagstop gn the railway 40 Trail and was situated below the present Central Food Store, or the south fire hall. lt was merely a small CPR red building with two compartments, a small one for people to sit on a bench along the wall and a larger room for baggage or freight. If you wanted to catch the train you flagged it down. There was also a sidetrack where trains could pass one another and a where freight cars were left for shipping out loads of poles or posts, or for unloading a car of hay or ‘feed’? for livestock Royalty stopped ‘at Castlegar’s station when travelling the southern route of the CPR, and Joe Killough remembers when HRH Edward Prince of Wales, later to be Edward VIII, visited at Castlegar and gave the school children a holiday Standing on‘the platform west of the station, His Royal Highness addressed a gathering of Castlegar and Trail pupils and their teachers. The Trail students had come to Castlegar by train and it must have been a great day for them. It is likely most of Castlegar was at the station that day, but Joe did not say anything about that. He thought this visit took place in 1918 Jamie Forbes, Trail city clerk, confirmed my recollection of a second visit by the Prince of Wales in 1926. At this time the royal party toured Cominco’s smelter and there are many pictures of Edward the Prin ce with various dignitaries and people of importance at Tadanac and the City of Trail. The Trail students probably got a holiday, but he may not have stopped of ficially in Castlegar on the tour. My brothers told of seeing the prince’s train go by the Kinnaird Station where they were loading cedar poles on a flat car. The prince waved to them from the back of the train as it went through. When his niece, Queen Elizabeth II, visited -here-during-a royal tour_many_years later, she came by plane, stepping out on the tarmac to greet the multitude of people whojgathered at the airport. As I remember, it rained that day A Castlegar resident told me she had seen a brass plaque on the SS Minto, stating that His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales, had travelled on the boat on his, way from Revelstoke to Castlegar. She thought the plaque was still on the Minto when it was burned off Galena Bay in August 1966. The Prinve stopped at Castlegar on that tour and it may have been the one spoken of by Joe Killough, but I have no information on that “‘spur’’ The train is pulling into the station now and my journey is over: My fellow travellers have helped me to remember, and they spoke of many things, but we have barely ‘‘scratchéd the surface’’ of history here To the many peopte that I did not talk to on this journey I offer my apologies, and pardon is asked for any errors that have occurred. Meanwhile, the old station broods amid~ the nostalgia of its own memories, waiting to come alive again — to once more have a place in the life of Castlegar. 1 am indebted to all the people | have spoken to or quoted above, also to Steve Abbott, office manager for CPR, superintendent M. L. Aberdeen in Revelstoke, and to Jamie Forbes, Trail city clerk, Betty Price at Castlegar city hall, my family and many others. Reading material L had with me on my journey in- cluded R. G. Burrow's Railway Milepost: British Columbia, Vol. II, Gerry Doeksen’s Railways of the West Kootenay-Part 2, Vol. 3, Harold Webber's People and Places, J.C. Charters’ Reflections and Recollec- tions columns, and the Castlegar News Centennial Edition, Sept. 28. 1967 Zuckerberg Island pool to be improved The Zuckerberg Island pool is slated for improvement, thanks to a good corporate citizen, B.C. Hydro. For some time the citizens of Castle; and particularly the Castlegar and District Heritage Society have been concerned about the con- dition of the permanent pool west of the park, With changes in the river pat- terns, weed growth has increased tremendously in the pool. When water levels are low the pond become stagnant, ill smelling and unsightly, as well asa hazard to swimmers. John Charters, president of the Heritage Society wrote a letter to Larry Bell, Chairman of B.C. Hydro, con cerning the problem. The request was supported by Mayor Audry Moore ata conference at which Bell was the guest of honor. Shortly thereafter, Charters and vice-president Alex Lutz met -with Hydro’s Lawrence Flynn and his assistant Gerald ‘Trudeau and studied the site. Then, using material from Charters’. exclusive ‘‘island’’ file, he prepared a report. The Castlegar and District Heritage Society has received $2,000 from Hydro for improvements to the unique Zuckerberg Island Heritage Park at the confluence of the Columbia and Kootenay River. The money will be used to develop a channel to clear up the pool. “*We want to help the society make the most of this local asset,’ Flynn said. **I have studied the island and can understand why it attracts tourists and inspires pride. We recognize the sup- port and effort put forth by the Castlegar and District Heritage Society in personal time and in raising funds so that the park remains a prominent at- traction.” The five-year-old park is best known for its Chapel House, built 50 years ago by Alexander Zuckerberg along lines inspired by Russian Orthodox country architecture. The island is reached by road and by a 474 foot suspension bridge and features among other at- tractions an Indian pit house, Zucker- berg’s original log house and a wide variety of birds and plants. In 1984, the bridge won the Hertz- berg award, the highest militia engineering award in Canada. In 1985, the story of Alexander Zuckerberg won the Canada Parks Centennial award, while the park has been featured in two books and a number of magazines, including the winter 1987 edition of Beautiful B.C. magazine. It has been the subject of interviews on the CBC's Bob Sharples Daybreak program and the Neil Gillon Saturday Morning Program The work on the pool will be carried out this spring when water levels are low Workers concerned -about new local 777 VANCOUVER (CP) — A top labor spokesman says there are ‘‘serious concerns” about a contract that offers discount prices on labor to operators of the Real Canadian Superstore. Ken Georgetti, president of the B.C. Federation of Labor, said meetings have been held with the national food union leader who negotiated the deal. “We're not sitting idly by and wat- ching this thing happen,”’ Georgett said. Workers-at major retail outlets in * British Columbia such as Safeway and Overwaitea are angry with the national leadership of the United Food. and Commercial Workers Union. They say the creation of a new Real Canadian Superstore local is undercutting their contracts. The new local 777 contract will cover about 3,000 workers in British Colum- bia_when all the Superstores are opened in Vancouver, South Van- couverand Coquitlam. Local 777 officials say the cut deal ensured the new store employees would be unionized — a first step towards getting workers a better deal than non-union workers could hope for. { But food workers’ union Idcals 1518 and 2000, now in contract negotiations, say they are faced with employer demands for rollbacks and KEN GEORGETTI meetings held cuts to their wages and working con- ditions because of the low-cost precedent set by local 777 “I'm discussing it with 1518 and 2000 and they both have serious and significant concerns,” said Georgetti The Local 777 contract that has angered trade unions provides for star- ting pay rates about 30 per cent below other food workers’ union contracts that begin around $10 per hour. It also offers registered retirement savings plans of $1,800 and $2,500 for em- ployees who quit after one or two years. Clauses in the contract also limit pay increases. Police file By CasNews Statr Four Castlegar vehicles had their tires slashed last week, Castlegar RC- MP report A vehicle in the 600 block 11th Avenue, a three-ton flat-deck truck in the 400 block of 13th Avenue, a vehicle in the 800 block of 6th Street and a gar bage truck in the 400 block of Colum bia Avenue had one or more tires cut Tuesday night, police say RCMP Siaff Sgt. Jack Keddy said tire slashings seem to be an “‘annual occurence” in Castlegar A 1981 Honda Prelude caught fire two kilometres east of the Brilliant Bridge-on-Highway 3A Wednesday The owsier, Brett Dube, said the cause of the fire was an electrical problem and damages have not been assessed, police reported. Moyie continued trom front page said to have been built in the United States during the 1880s.) “I haven’t seen that one myself, but my guess is that it has to have been ex. tensively rebuilt.”” Turner also maintained that the Moyie- is the oldest structually—un- changed steam-powered passenger vessel in Canada. Only Ontario’s propeller-driven S S. Segwun, which began operating in the Muskoka region north of Toronto in 1887, has a steamship hull older than the Moyie’s but the Segwun was originally built as a sidewheeler, he said. The $350,000 preservation program, cost-shared by the federal and provin: cial governments as well as local in lerests, was arranged last year to keep the Moyie fromdeteriorating. But Turner estimated that $1 million would be needed for full restoration The Moyie"Was Beached here after working Kootenay Lake for almost 59 years as part of the Canadian Pacific Railway empire The vessel is the oldest Of six sur- viving sternwheelers in Western Canada and the Yukon The Yukon’s three sternwheelers have been meticulously restored as museums Snow continued from front page Paulson Bridge on Highway 3. The normal water equivalent snow pack is 315 millimetres and the total millimetres recorded March 1 was 253 mm. The total for 1988 was 179 mm and in 1987, 225 mm. “It’s a whole lot better than the last couple of years, but still below the long-term normal, "’ Anderson said The station at Red Mountain, which has 52 years of records, is also below the long-term normal but is above the total recorded at this time during the last couple of years. Red Mountain's normal is 415 mm. The station recorded 330 mm in Mar- ch. The total for 1988 was 216 mm and in 1987 it was 254mm. Wood continued from front page “The worst thing was thinking about how hard it would be,”” she said. ‘When we actually did the climb, it was easier than I’d thought because we were committed.” How did they know they'd reached the top? “There’s no more up," Woods said with a laugh She told the conference achieving a goal is largely determined by how much you believe you can do it to women wanting to get into the job market or change careers, she said. **There’s more in us than we let ourselves believe,"’ she said. The conference, one in a series that have been staged Wood was chosen as the keynote speaker because she is inspirational not only as a woman who has overcSme great odds to achieve a goal but also as a businesswoman who has used her experiences in climbing to create a suc- cessful’career asa public speaker, Tennessy said. Recently married and expecting a baby, Wood con- tinues to work as a mountain guide. ‘BRIEFLY... ~ there is no around the province recently, was sponsored by the Federal Business Development Bank and the provincial Ministry of Advanced Education and Job Training — Women’s Secretariat. The first round of conferences began in 1986. They are aimed at encouraging women who own businesses to ex- pand those businesses and provide role models for all women in the business world, said Carol Tennessy, Van couver regional manager of communications for the FB- DB. In addition to presenting speakers, the conferences provide workshops on developing a small business and suc- ceeding in the business world. The workshops are examined and expanded each year after conference-goers have had a chance to comment on what they've learned, Tennessy said This last round of conferences, for example, was more extensive than those in previous years, with seminars designed to appeal not only to women in business but also D'Arcy continued from front poge that, as a society or as a government, you would like to do."" Media panellists on the forum were Castlegar News editor Simon Birch, Trail Times manager editor Lynn Blanchard and reporter Al Riddell of the Kootenay Broadcasting System. The moderator was Richard Maddocks of the Castlegar Economic Development Board. The show will be repeated today at I p.m. A second live MLA Forum has been tentatively scheduled for Tuesday April 4 at 7 p.m. on Cable 10. D’Arcy and Nelson-Creston Socred MLA Howard Dirks, minister of state for the Kootenays, have been in- vited to discuss the provincial budget which the gover- nment will announce March 30. Bomb explodes in Amritsar NEW DELHI (Reuter) — A powerful bomb hidden in an abandoned bicycle exploded in the heart of the Sikh holy city of Amritsar, killing at least one person, police in the northern Indian state of Punjab said. They said 15 people were injured in the blast in a cloth market 50 metres from the Golden Temple, the holiest Sikh shrine, The explosion was heard three kilometres away and set several parked cars on fite Police did not immediately blame anyone for the explosion, but the method-was the same as-used by the Sikh extremist Babbar Khalsa, or Pure Tigers, separatist group last June. Body found in lion's den MELBOURNE, Australia (Reuter) — A 32-year-old man apparently climbed to a grisly death in the lions’ den at Melbourne Zoo on Friday night in what police believe was a suicide. A zookeeper found the man’s near-naked and badly mauled body in the lions’ den Saturday morning with his clothes neatly folded nearby, police told reporters. Zoo director Graham Shotter said it would take a deliberate effort to climb the four-metife-high wire netting surrounding the den although it was possible, but unlikely, the man was thrown there by others. Police did not release the man’s name. Fish pose no healttrrisk,_.. REGINA (SP) — Tests on fish collected from the North Saskat chewan River near Prince Albert, Sask., sHOW trac els of dioxins, but_| 5 health tisk to people ealing them, says Saskatchewan's-er- vironment minister The tests were conducted tast~falt-as-part-of-anationat testing program on fish living downstream from pulp mills. Tests were conducted on bottom-feeding sucker fish and walleye from the river and nearby lakes. Dioxins were found in the sucker fish, at a level of 1.6 parts per trillion. The toxi chemical furan was present at 5.7 parts per trillion. Environment Minister Herb Swan said both levels are well below federal guidelines of 20 parts per trillion, ‘‘which is considered acceptable under Canadian standards."" Church to pay damages WINNIPEG (CP) — The Anglican Church of Canada has agreed to pay damages to a boy Who was sexually abused by a Winnipeg priest four years ago The diocese of Rupert’s Land has reached a “substantial” aut-of- court settlement with the family of the boy, who was assaulted by Rev Charles David Griggs in 1985, said John Sinclair, the victim’s lawyer Griggs was rector of St. Bede’s Church until 1986. Terms of the financial settlement are confidential, Sinclair said. Lawyers believe this is the first Canadian case in which a church has agreed to pay civil damages as compensation for aclergyman's breach-of trust and sexual indiscretions. Policy expected to pass WASHINGTON (AP) — House of Representatives and Senate leaders predict smooth sailing for a new policy toward Central America containing $45 million for Nicaraguan guerfillas even though some con- servatives in Congress say they will try to change it Nicaragua's government said it didn’t like the U.S. program either In Managua, Foreign Ministry Secretary|General Alejandro Ben- dana called the plan ‘‘confusing and unclear’ and said it goes against a regional pact that calls for dismantling the rebel force by mid-May Lawyers want Reagan WASHINGTON (AP) Oliver North's lawyers have asked the judge in his lran—Contra trial to order former U.S. president Ronald Reagan to testify as leadoff witness for the defence late next week The Justice Department said it would seek to have the subpoena for Reagan’s appearance thrown out. Reagan told the Tower commission investigating the Iran-Contra af fair in January-19871hat he did not know his National Security Council staff — including North — was engaged in helping the Contras. But the defence, which contends North had authority for all_his White House actions, wants to question Reagan | _ VALDEZ, Alaska (CP) : Japan discovers gold TOKYO (Reuter) — Japan has discovered a major gold deposit on a remote island in Indonesia by analysing photographs taken from satellites, government researchers said Agency researchers detected the deposit by observing magma and underground streams in enhanced satellite photographs, said Ryoichi Koda, who works for an agency withint the Ministry of International Trade and Industry Rioters shoot at police BELGRADE (Reuter) — Ethnic Albanian rioters shot at police Saturday as Yugoslavia’s Kosovo province was shaken by a third straight day of demonstrations, the official Tanjug news agency said Demonstrators threw stones and bricks at police, and some fired shots from pistols, about 240 kilometres south of Belgrade Tanjug did not mention any injuries, nor whether police returned Tanjug reported from the Kosovo town of Urosevac, fire. Kosovo's f.7 million ethnic Albanians, who outnumber Serbs in the province by cight to one, fear the loss df autonomy will wipe out their national culture and rights, a charge Serbia denies. New name for CNCP TORONTO (CP) — CNCP Telecommunications, tired of its dowdy image and determined to make a splash in Ottawa when it once again asks to compete with Bell Canada, has decided to change its name ~ CNCP has hired Chris Yaneff, a corporate magician to think up the new name and design the logo He has already turned the maker of Silverwood ice cream into Silcorp., Crown Life Insuranee into Crownx, and an electronics division of Electrohome into Aabex The Collier and Park Group will work on an advertising campaign to herald the new image across Canada..CNCP won't say-how-much it’s paying for the new look Getting ready outside the C for the of C s new aquatic centre. Complex this week signals the start of site LARGEST OIL SPILL IN U.S. HISTORY By MIRO CERNETIG More tha waters, the U.S. Coast Guard said “It probably would not to any degree exceed-or leave Prince—William: Sound,” said Coast Guard Cmdr. Steve recovering a large portion of the oil.” McCall. ‘We have a good clrance of The 43 million litres began seeping from the ruptured tanks of the Exxon Valdez into the blue-green waters of the moumtain-ringed sound after the supertanker rammed a reef on Friday. McCall also told fishermen and other residents at the civic centre of this town of 3,000 that tanker skipper Joseph Hazelwood and two crew members were tested to sec if they were impaired by alcohol or drugs, But he refused to make the test results public: Coast Guard and Exxon officials said calm seas in the rugged fjord were aiding an effort to skim some oil off the surface but the glass-smooth water also prevented chemical dispersal of the oil, a process requiring agitation from choppy seas Company president Frank larossi said tests were planned on burning off par tsof the vit stick as well as chemical dispersement larossi said the investigation of the accident is taking a back seat to the im- mediate problem of unloading the tanker McCall said an operation aimed at pumping oil still inside the Exxon Valdez into the Exxon Baton Rouge, another supertanker rafted alongside, were aban doned after an hour because of fears of causing more structural damage to the grounded vessel. The Exxon Valdez, which went hard aground a day short of the second-an- niversary of its maiden voyage, was ringed by hundreds of metres of oil contain ment booms However, oll was on both sides of the booms and the slick, which had grown to 13 kilometres long and five kilometres wide, appeared from the air to be breaking up _ Alaskan crude fouls fjord Canadian Coast Guard officials said earlier it is unlikely any of the oil will 40 million litres of black, thick-Nerth—foutthe B-€-coastline,TFhe spill is 1,000 kilometres north of the Queen Charlotte Slope-crude, the largest oil spill in U.S. history, will likely be contained in Alaska Islands, the nearest B.C Meanwhile, B.C point of land Premier Bill Vander Zalm, whose government was criticized for inaction in dealing with a spill off Washington state that fouled, Van- couver Island beaches in January, arrived here for a first-hand look SPILL LARGER Accompanying Vander Zalm was Deputy Environment Minister Richard Dalon and Murray Stewart, head of the Provincial Emergency Program. The Alaska spill is nearly 50 times greater than the Jahuary spills Vander Zalm, who is observing the clean-up attempts, met later with Alaska Governor Steve Cowper to discuss.a B.C task force on oil spills invitation to join a°B.C.-Washington The task force was Tormed alter part oF the 875,000-litre spill from a barge holed off Grays Harbor, Wash., hit the west coast of Vancouver Island, including Pacific Rim,National Park The U.S. Coast Guard said two islands in Prince William Sound, an-area popular with tourists, fishermen and kayakers, had been blackened by the oil. En- vironmentalists feared for sea birds and marine mammals such as whales and por. poises. This situation, I think, was everyone's secret nightmare about what could happen with oil traffic in the sound,”’ said Dennis Kelso, commissioner of the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation Although Exxon has flown in planeloads of cleanup crews, he said the response by Alyeska Marine Terminal where the tankers are loaded was ‘‘com- pletely unacceptable.”” ‘“Fhe-bottom line is the equipment and personnel that were supposed to be available weren’t available. We expect them (Alyeska) 0 deliver-what-they promise." ‘Chuck 0" Donnett; manager of Atyeska; said cleanttp efforts were hampered. bya lack of company employees on the Good Friday holiday but Alyeska workers were‘on the scene in 10 hours. Pope ushers in Easter VATICAN CITY (AP) ~ Thousands of small candles illuminated St. Peter's Basilica on Saturday night as Pope John Paul celebrated Easter- vigil services Before thousands of people packing the pews and aisles of the cathedral, the pontiff lita long white candle to open the service commemorating the night Jesus Christ rose from the dead after his crucifixion The cavernous basilica was dark and silent as the Pope, preceded by car- dinals and bishops, carried the candle ina slow procession toward theattar: After the third chanting of the “Lumen Christi,” or Light of Christ, the basilica slowly lit up as the congregation began lighting small candles to symbolize the “‘pilgrimage from darkness to light."” The Pope then placed his candle at the altar, and the lights of the basilica were turned on. POPE JOHN PAUL . .. celebrates Easter After prayers and readings, the Pope delivered a homily stressing the “natural power of water”’ and its role inthe sacrament of baptism The Pope then baptized and confir med 16 people from eight countries five each from Japan and the Korean peninsula and one each from_the United States, France, the Philippines, Iran, Italy and Egypt “In a wonderful way, your baptism and the wait for the Resurrection of Christ, which will happen tonight, are taking place at the same time,"’ the Pope said: in his homily, delivered in lalian The mass lasted nearly two hours The Pope is to celebrate an open-air mass in St. Peter’s Square this mor ning, followed by his ‘‘Urbiet Orbi,"’ a message to Rome and the world that he is to-detiver at-noon from the balcony overlooking the square Earlier Saturday, the Polish-born Pope offered Easter greetings to 300 Poles living in Italy and 250 youths from various countries belonging to the Community ‘of Sant‘Egidio, a Roman Catholic youth organization. Taking advantage of the warm spring weather, tourists from many countries began lining up early in St Peter's Square as workers adorned the basilica steps with yellow, white and orange tulips from the Netherlands The Pope presided over several Holy Week ceremonies leading up to Easter. On Friday evening, he carried a sim- ple-black wooden cross in a torchlit procession at the Colosseum. Tens of thousands watched in| person and millions around the world followed on television-as the Pope symbolically retraced Christ's path to his crucifixion in Jerusalem: On Thursday, the Pope washed the feet of 12 priests in a ceremony re- enacting Christ’s last supper Soviets try out democracy MOSCOW (AP) After seven decades of Communist rule, Soviets borrow a page from democracies this weekend with their country’s first contested elections + However, they won't be forsaking Communist controls in place. since 1917. The party will remain the corner- Stone of political life, despite the new democratic trappings. western Soviets are voting today to fill 1,500 seats in a 2,250-member Congress of People’s Deputies, a new chamber created last year in broad electoral reforms championed by Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev The rest of the seats have been direc tly filled by the Communist party and other officially sanctioned groups ranging from labor union$ to an association of stamp collectors Fully 82 per cent of the candidates for the seats, which will represent elec toral districts arfd the 15 constituent Soviet republics, are party members. In a quarter of Sunday's races, only one candidate is running, as in the old days The-party has dominated the selec tion of canflidates and will, if only by Parks condemns proposal CALGARY (CP) — The Canadian Parks Service has overwhelmingly condemned a proposed $75-million expansion of Sunshine Ski Village resort, saying it would severely affect the sensitive alpine environment and pose a public safety hazard. The report appears to shut the door on Sunshine owner Ralph Scurfield’s four-year-long fight for a new hotel, parking lot and high-speed lift, although the final decision still rests with federal Environment Minister Lucien Bouchard The parks service says Scurfield’s proposal to provide facilities for 10,000 skiers “‘is seriously imbalanced because it fequires environmental rearrangem + of the unique and sen sitive Sunshine landscape at a scale which has never been permitted in Canada’s mountain national parks Environmental groups. which op pose the expansion were elated “This is the first signal we've had from our new environment minister that he’s going to hold the line and take care of the environment,” said Ray Rasmussen, president of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Association's Alberta chapter. ‘We all knew the proposal was ridiculous in terms of the environmental damage that would be caused HIGHER TAXES Alberta Sparrow said the higher taxes for Albertans Tourism Minister Don port may result in The report says the proposed 300: room hotel would have a significant impact on the Meadows, with additional visitor traf fic posing a serious fisk of permanent damage. It adds approval of the hotel would likely trigger proposals throughout the mountain national parks fragile Sunshine many similar mathematics, also dominate the assembly after Sunday's balloting Moreover, the new chamber will meet just once a year to pick a working legislature. Thus, the party should be able to stack the legislature with its own members if it so chooses. Yet the campaign has brought com petition and public debate of a kind almost impossible to imagine in the pre-Gorbachev era Thousands of Muscovites took to the streets this week in rallies to pomote Boris Yeltsin, a mayerick who wants to snuff out party privileges like special food stores and chauffeured limousines. He is running against party stalwart Yevgeny Brakov, manager of the ZIL auto factory, for Moscow's seat In the increasingly radical Baltic states of Latvia and Lithuania, party candidates face strong opponents from the local Popular Fronts Estonia, Lithuanian political organization, Sajudis, is run: ning candidaies for almost all the republic's 42 seats, and they are expec- ted to fare well. The group favors sovereignty for the republic, a status just short of secession The independent